A scoping review on the importance of vaccination strategies targeting skin imprinting for arthropod-borne diseases.

Abstract

Tissue-resident memory T (T_RM) cells in the skin play a critical role in early immune defense against pathogens entering via breaches such as arthropod bites. However, their specific induction through immunization strategies remains underexplored. We performed a scoping review following PRISMA guidelines to assess vaccination strategies capable of inducing skin T_RM cells. Intradermal and skin scarification routes consistently induced skin T_RM cells with 94-100% success rates, while viral vector, DNA-based, and live-attenuated vaccines were the most effective platforms, particularly when combined with adjuvants promoting local inflammation. CD69 and CD103 were the most frequently employed markers, despite significant methodological heterogeneity. Vaccine-induced T_RM cells were shown to disseminate throughout the skin and confer durable protection, independent of circulating T cells. However, evidence is largely restricted to preclinical studies, underscoring the need for standardization of T_RM cell identification and expanded human studies to translate these findings into clinical practice.