Avaliação do pigmento de Lawsonia inermis (henna) como carreadorde antígenos inoculados por via transcutânea em camundongos

AIMS: To evaluate the role of pigment Lawsonia inermis (henna) as a carrier of antigens in transcutaneous vaccination in mice. METHODS: Mice were immunized transcutaneously into the skin of the abdomen and the ear’s skin with crude antigen of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and with bovine serum albumin at concentrations of 1, 10 and 50 mg/mL, three times at one week intervals in the presence or absence of pigments L. inermis . One week after last immunization, the animals were evaluated for the presence of serum antibodies, interleucin-4 and interferon-gamma cytokines, and nitric oxide in culture supernatants. RESULTS: No specific antibodies were detected to P.brasiliensis or bovine serum albumin antigens. There were no significant differences in the production of nitric oxide, interleucin-4 and interferon-gamma in supernatants of cell culture. CONCLUSIONS: Transcutaneous immunization with crude antigen of P. brasiliensis or bovine serum albumin suspended in pigment of L. inermis produced no detectable antigenic response in mice.