Characterizing the role of the periocular mucosa as a site for topical vaccination against respiratory viruses

The eye is covered by a mucosa constantly exposed to microbes like SARS- CoV-2, more than any other external mucosa (i.e., nose and mouth). Despite this, the eye rarely becomes infected due to powerful immune factors protecting our vision. When the eye is exposed to a microbe, this material migrates into regions that produce immune cells to fight these microbes. These immune cells are distributed in the body to protect against these microbes locally and systemically.In light of the recent pandemic, we need new ways to study how viruses interact with our body and ways to combat them. The accessibility of the eye, and its relationship to the nose and lymph nodes makes this site underutilized to understand how our bodies deal with respiratory viruses. To study this, we will apply to the eyes of mice a coronavirus, Mouse Hepatitis Virus (MHV-1), to understand the immune response to this virus. We will measure immune cells in the eye, nose, and lymph nodes to characterize their interaction within the immune system.Since the eye is a first point of contact for viruses, we propose to characterize how exposing the eye to a virus can protect against respiratory infection. We will use MHV-1 to cause respiratory disease and understand how initial exposure at the eye can shape immediate and long-term immunity. This will form the basis for using the eye as a site for topical immunization. By giving eyedrops containing MHV-1 before the start of respiratory disease, we expect to observe downstream protective effects during respiratory infection.This study will help us understand how the eye shapes our immune system in fighting infections. Moreover, this lays the foundation for a novel and more accessible vaccine approach which may prove more powerful at preventing infection, eyedrops.