Formaldehyde (FA) is a widely produced industrial chemical. Sufficient evidence exists to consider FA as an animal carcinogen. In humans the evidence is not conclusive. DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC) may be one of the early lesions in the carcinogenesis process in cells following exposures to carcinogens. It has been shown in in vitro tests that FA can form DPC. We examined the amount of DPC formation in human white blood cells exposed to FA in vitro and in white blood cells taken from 12 workers exposed to FA and eight controls. We found a significant difference (P = 0.03) in the amount of DPC among exposed (mean +/- SD 28 +/- 5%, minimum 21%, maximum 38%) than among the unexposed controls (mean +/- SD 22 +/- 6%, minimum 16%, maximum 32%). Of the 12 exposed workers, four (33%) showed crosslink values above the upper range of controls. We also found a linear relationship between years of exposure and the amount of DPC. We conclude that our data indicate a possible mechanism of FA carcinogenicity in humans and that DPC can be used as a method for biological monitoring of exposure to FA.

Intranasal (IN) immunization with a Plasmodium circumsporozoite (CS) protein conjugated to flagellin, a TLR5 agonist, was found to elicit antibody mediated protective immunity in our previous murine studies. To better understand IN elicited immune responses, we examined the nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) in immunized mice and the interaction of flagellin-modified CS with murine dendritic cells (DC) in vitro. NALT of immunized mice contained a predominance of germinal center (GC) B cells and increased numbers of CD11c+ DC localized beneath the epithelium and within the GC T cell area. We detected microfold (M) cells distributed throughout the NALT epithelial cell layer and DC dendrites extending into the nasal cavity which could potentially function in luminal CS antigen uptake. Flagellin-modified CS taken up by DC in vitro was initially localized within intracellular vesicles followed by a cytosolic distribution. Vaccine modifications to enhance delivery to the NALT and specifically target NALT APC populations will advance development of an efficacious needle-free vaccine for the 40% of the world's population at risk of malaria.

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A needle-free malaria vaccine has been developed based on intranasal (I.N) immunization with a recombinant P. falciparum circumsporozoite (CS) protein conjugated to the TLR5 agonist flagellin. Mice immunized I.N, but not subcutaneously, with flagellin-modified CS developed sporozoite neutralizing antibodies that protect against challenge with a transgenic rodent parasite expressing P. falciparum CS repeats. To better understand the role of innate immune cells in the induction of protective immunity, we analyzed the interaction of flagellin-modified CS with murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) and human monocyte-derived DC in vitro. The fusion protein was rapidly taken up by DC and remained detectable in the cytosol as long as 24 hours post antigen pulse. A murine DC line (D1), and a sub-population of human DC, matured and expressed increased levels of CD40 and CD86 following stimulation with flagellin-modified CS. In I.N. immunized mice, the Nasopharyngeal-associated Lymphoid Tissue (NALT) was enlarged 2-fold over naïve NALT, and increased levels of CD11c+ DC were observed by confocal microscopy and FACS analysis. NALT cell subpopulations exhibited a higher B:T cell ratio than those observed in lymph nodes. A better understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses elicited in NALT by TLR ligand-modified CS protein will help identify critical immune parameters required for the induction of sporozoite specific immunity that protects from malaria infection.