Mucosal immunity: Some historical perspective on host‐pathogen interactions and implications for mucosal vaccines

Historical perspectives are defined as synthesis of determining forces as inferred from past events. However, in reality, any historical overview is often fraught with biases underlying the inferences of the historian. History continues to be rewritten on the basis of emerging new facts or biases, and what is often perceived as authentic recorded past may not always be factual. As a result, such perspectives are often criticized for either ignoring or highlighting major or minor events or contributions, respectively, in the recorded history. While recognizing the outstanding contributions of many recent or contemporary investigators, this report is a modest effort to pay tribute largely to our earlier scientific ancestors. This reviewer accepts full responsibility for any errors in facts of past history and any perceived bias in the inclusion or exclusion of some important investigators and their contributions in the recent history of this still evolving field of human biology. During the past century, exciting new information of immense scientific and public health impact has become available concerning the external mucosal surfaces, their role in the modulation of mammalian immune responses, and their usefulness as delivery sites for immunization against infectious diseases and other environmental macromolecules. This presentation will briefly review some of the historical aspects of the evolution of the current concepts of mucosal immunity and their implications to the development of vaccines specifically designed to capitalize on the mucosal immunologic repertoire.