This project was initiated in our laboratory with the goal of developing a recombinant rotavirus vaccine using attenuated Salmonella strains as the expression system. In this project, it is hoped that key antigens involved in the development of broadly-protective immunity to rotavirus will be identified. Salmonella offers many advantages as an expression system, the foremost being the delivery of antigens to the mucosal surface of the gut. Thus, mechanisms associated with rotavirus immunity can be studied with specific antigens of the virus at the site where the virus adsorbs and replicates. This information is relevant to the improvement of current vaccine strategies and to the development of future recombinant vaccines.
