Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Virol. Mar 25, 2026; 15(1): 116939
Published online Mar 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.116939
Published online Mar 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i1.116939
Next-generation mucosal vaccines for respiratory viruses: Immunological correlates, platform design and clinical translation
Salma Younas, Department of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Soha Farooq, Department of Pharmacy, Shifa Tameer e Millat University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sweta Sahu, J.J.M Medical College, Davangere 577004, Karnātaka, India
Rhobi Peter Mwita, Department of Pediatrics, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54100, Türkiye
Öner Özdemir, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Adapazarı 54100, Sakarya, Türkiye
Author contributions: Younas S and Özdemir O designed and supervised the study; Younas S, Farooq S, Mwita RP and Sahu S performed the literature search and data curation; Younas S and Farooq S drafted the initial manuscript; Younas S, Mwita RP and Özdemir O contributed to critical revision and methodological refinement; all authors contributed to data interpretation, reviewed and edited the manuscript, and approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Öner Özdemir, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Adnan Menderes Cad, Adapazarı 54100, Sakarya, Türkiye. ozdemir_oner@hotmail.com
Received: November 25, 2025
Revised: January 16, 2026
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: March 25, 2026
Processing time: 108 Days and 21.8 Hours
Revised: January 16, 2026
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: March 25, 2026
Processing time: 108 Days and 21.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Respiratory viruses initiate infections at mucosal surfaces; however, most licensed vaccines induce predominantly systemic immunity. Next-generation mucosal vaccines aim to generate protective immunity directly at the point of viral entry by inducing secretory IgA, tissue-resident memory T lymphocytes, and rapid innate immune responses in the res