Evaluation of a Liposome-Supplemented Intranasal Influenza Subunit Vaccine in a Murine Model System: Induction of Systemic and Local Mucosal Immunity

Abstract

This study reports on the mucosal immunoadjuvant activity of liposomes in an experimental influenza subunit vaccine administered intranasally (i.n.) to mice. Antibody responses induced by the i.n. liposomal vaccine were compared to those induced by an influenza infection or by subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of subunit antigen alone, the conventional route of human flu vaccination. Negatively charged liposomes, but not positively charged or zwitter-ionic liposomes, coadministered i.n. with influenza subunit antigen, significantly stimulated systemic IgG levels and local antibody responses in pulmonary secretions, relative to the responses upon i.n. administration of subunit antigen alone. I.n. immunization with liposome-supplemented subunit antigen as well as s.c. immunization with subunit antigen alone or infection induced high levels of IgG antibodies in serum and pulmonary secretions, with a preferential induction of IgGl upon immunization and IgG2a upon infection. Both i.n. immunization with liposome-supplemented antigen and infection, but not s.c. immunization with subunit antigen alone, induced local secretion of S-IgA. At the same time, both IgA-and IgG-secreting cells appeared in (he lungs and lung-associated lymph nodes, suggestive of local antibody production. In conclusion, the liposomal adjuvant system, combined with a mucosal administration protocol, provides a promising strategy for induction of both systemic and local antibody responses against influenza virus.     

Cochleates: New Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Cochleates are a lipid-based tailored drug delivery system formed by the precipitation of a negatively charged lipid and a cation, for example phosphatidylserine and calcium. Hydrophobic, amphiphilic, negatively or positively charged moieties are suitable candidates to be delivered via cochleates. Various procedures have been developed allowing the control of cochleate particle size, including the trapping and hydrogel methods, which use either a direct addition or a slow diffusion of calcium into the negatively charged liposome/drug suspension. The efficacy of cochleates to encapsulate and deliver drugs was evaluated using amphotericin B as a model. Amphotericin B cochleates (CAMB) were compared to Fungizone® and AmBisome®, two commercially available AmB products. Parenterally, CAMB was given IP to ICR mice infected with Candida albicans. 100% survival was observed with low doses of CAMB (0.5 mg/kg/day, 10 days) compared to 60% for Fungizone, at the same dose. Tissue burden studies were conducted in parallel. Mice were treated daily from day 1 to day 7 post challenge and tissue burden assessed at day 8. In the kidneys, all three formulations were comparable in reducing colony counts. In the spleen, CAMB at 10 mg/kg/day was comparable to AmBisome given IV at the same dose. At 1 mg/kg/day, CAMB was more potent than Fungizone and AmBisome. Oral administration of CAMB in C57BL/6 mice, at 10 mg/kg results in high levels of AmB in target tissues. Multiple daily doses (10) showed accumulation of AmB in key tissues (liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys) and AmB tissue concentrations are raised to therapeutic levels. Orally administered CAMB are highly effective against fungal infections in mice at very low doses. Balb/C mice were infected with Candida albicans and were given oral CAMB as a daily dose for 15 days. Comparison was done to AmBisome given orally at 10 mg/kg and Fungizone IP. 100% survival was obtained with CAMB at doses as low as 0.5 mg/kg/day (15 days). CAMB eradicate Candida from lungs when given at 2.5 mg/kg/day and was comparable to Fungizone given IP at almost the same dose (2 mg/kg/day). The comparison between CAMB and AmBisome shows that oral CAMB is 10 times more effective than oral AmBisome in reducing colony counts in both kidneys and lungs. Orally administered CAMB were non-toxic even at the highest dose of 50 mg/kg/day (14 days). This was demontrated by 100% survival of the animals and normal histopathology analysis. No lesions in the kidneys, GI tract, lungs, liver and spleen was observed despite the substantial amount of AmB in these organs. AmB cochleate promise to be a safe, broad spectrum, effective and orally available, antifungal formulation.     

流感裂解疫苗H3N2-抗H3N2免疫原性复合物滴鼻诱导小鼠黏膜免疫应答的研究

目的研究流感裂解病毒疫苗抗原抗体复合物滴鼻诱生小鼠黏膜免疫应答.方法分别以15μg H3N2、H3N2-CpG、H3N2-鼠抗H3N2及H3N2-PEG滴鼻免疫小鼠,检测肺泡灌洗液抗H3N2 IgA、血清抗H3N2 IgG效价.取免疫小鼠脾细胞,体外抗原刺激,用定量酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测上清液IFN-γ及IL-4分泌水平.结果H3N2-抗H3N2免疫原性复合物诱生的抗H3N2 IgA效价明显高于H3N2单独免疫组(P＜0.01),而与H3N2-CpG组无显著性差异.此外,复合物诱生的血清抗H3N2也高于H3N2单独免疫组(P＜0.05).H3N2-CpG组诱生的IFN-γ水平明显升高,而其他组之间无明显差异.结论流感病毒血凝素抗原抗体复合物、血凝素抗原加CpG佐剂可以诱生较强的局部黏膜免疫和体液免疫.这两组诱生的IgA效价均明显高于H3N2单独免疫组.另外,H3N2-CpG组小鼠的脾脏细胞经特异性抗原诱导后培养上清液中的IFN-γ水平明显升高.     

活菌疫苗载体的研究与应用

目前在疫苗研究中,要求新型疫苗不仅能够激发高效持久的免疫应答,而且应易于接种、生产费用低。减毒或无毒的活微生物作为疫苗载体能够激起持久的系统和黏膜免疫反应,批量制备成本较低,且具有良好的安全性,近年来已成为疫苗研究领域的热点。本文综述了几种活菌疫苗载体,包括沙门氏菌、卡介苗、耶尔森菌等的研究状况及其在疫苗载体方面的应用。     

The injection of plasmid DNA in mouse muscle results in lifelong persistence of DNA, gene expression, and humoral response

The duration of the immune response against any vaccine is critical. The present study was performed to determine the stability of injected plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the duration of gene expression in mouse muscle, as well as the duration of the immune response generated in mice after injection of plasmid pSO2C1 harboring the cry11Bb gene of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. medellin. The localization and the persistence of the inoculated gene were determined by in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results demonstrated that plasmid DNA can persist in mouse muscle for up to 2 yr. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis showed that Cry11Bb protein was expressed for the lifetime of the mice at a low but significant level. Finally, production of Cry11Bb-specific antibodies in mice injected with pSO2C1 was high and durable as significant antibody titers were observed up to 119 wk after injection of the plasmid. This persistent immune response is likely owing to the existence of a protein and/or DNA depot in the organism, which serves to maintain the immune response, acting as a secondary or booster immunization.     

形貌调控与镀层修饰结合制备口服疫苗载体*

口服疫苗因其具有接种方便、能产生黏膜免疫等优点而备受关注,但胃肠道屏障、酸性环境和蛋白酶等不利条件制约了口服疫苗免疫效果的发挥。为提升其免疫效果,将形貌调控与镀层修饰策略结合制备新型口服疫苗载体,具体为将溶剂蒸发法与快速膜乳化法结合制备聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物(PLGA)杆状颗粒,并采用能够增强免疫反应的β-葡聚糖及具有更高降解pH的硫醇化修饰的羟丙基甲基纤维素苯二甲酸酯(T-HPMCP)对PLGA杆状颗粒镀层修饰。在制备PLGA杆状颗粒时,通过对外水相条件的摸索制备出了适合小肠上皮细胞摄取的长度在2~4 μm、宽度在1~2 μm的PLGA杆状颗粒。体外实验结果表明通过T-HPMCP修饰的疫苗载体在酸性环境下保持稳定有利于抗原活性保护,同时能够在pH≥7.4时分解而使抗原释放。细胞和动物实验结果表明其特殊的杆状形貌可实现较高的肠道上皮摄取速率及转运效率,并且β-葡聚糖的修饰能活化树突状细胞(DC),提升OVA特异性IgA和IgG抗体水平。综上,制备的镀层PLGA杆状颗粒作为口服疫苗载体可提升机体免疫应答,为口服疫苗的研究提供了新的材料和思路。     

细菌性腹泻三联口服疫苗的研制及其免疫效果的初步评价

由细菌引起的感染性腹泻,至今仍是世界范围广泛流行的传染病之一。由于耐抗生素病原菌的不断涌现,导致了抗生素药物的治疗效果不佳。因此,研发便捷、有效的疫苗对于细菌性腹泻的预防与治疗尤为重要。针对产肠毒素大肠杆菌、霍乱弧菌与志贺氏痢疾菌这三种最为主要的细菌性腹泻病原菌,设计和筛选了以热不稳定肠毒素亚基蛋白为抗原和黏膜佐剂、霍乱弧菌鞭毛蛋白及志贺毒素亚基蛋白为抗原的三联疫苗。通过工程大肠杆菌获得了相应的抗原与佐剂蛋白,并以海藻酸钙-壳聚糖微球为疫苗的口服载体,制备了疫苗的口服制剂。体外实验表明,微球载体中的蛋白质在模拟胃液中释放较低,但在模拟肠液中释放迅速,这种载体能够实现疫苗在肠道内定向释放的目的。通过对灌胃免疫后小鼠免疫指标的检测,证明了疫苗能够刺激机体产生抗原特异性的sIgA与IgG抗体,免疫组与对照组相比,差异显著(P0.05),并提升了外周血中CD4~+T细胞的含量(7.5%~9.5%)与CD4~+T/CD8~+T细胞的比率,有效地激活了机体的黏膜免疫与系统免疫,能够对机体起到保护作用。     

Biomimetic Particles in Drug and Vaccine Delivery

Over the last two decades, lipid supramolecular association to particles has been systematically studied on latex, silica or drug particles over a range of experimental conditions in order to achieve optimal bilayer deposition onto particles. The difficult step of vesicle disruption, especially for bilayers in the rigid gel state, was circumvented by using previously disrupted charged vesicles, namely, charged bilayer fragments or disks. Thereby, under appropriate conditions of the intervening medium, bilayer fragments coalesced around particles. In this mini-review, some applications of biomimetic particles in drug and vaccine delivery are discussed such as: encapsulation of hydrophobic drug particles, isolation and reconstitution of cell receptor function, presentation of antigens to the immunological system or highly effective antimicrobial action of positively charged bilayer disks by themselves or upon coverage of hydrophobic antimicrobial drug particles with the cationic bilayer fragments. In summary, a myriad of novel applications for spherical or discoidal biomimetic particles can be anticipated from the proofs-of-concept discussed in this work.     

流感新型黏膜疫苗的研究

目的评价PorA、PorB和Class4对流感裂解疫苗的免疫增强作用,从中挑选出最有效的流感黏膜佐剂,为发展流感黏膜疫苗提供理论基础。方法流感三价裂解抗原按比例与PorA、PorB和Class4非共价结合,滴鼻免疫Balb／c小鼠3次,采取间接ELISA检测血清特异性IgG抗体及抗体亚型,检测鼻咽、肺、小肠和阴道冲洗液中IgA效价,采用血凝抑制试验检测血清中HAI效价。结果PorB重组蛋白佐剂组较无佐剂的流感裂解抗原组在提高小鼠早期免疫应答的同时诱导较强的系统免疫应答和黏膜免疫应答;PorA组也有黏膜佐剂的功能,但和无佐剂的流感裂解抗原组相比,差异无统计学意义。结论在蛋白体的三分子中,以PorB为佐剂的流感黏膜疫苗不仅提高了抗原的系统免疫应答,而且诱导了较强的小鼠呼吸道、生殖道的局部黏膜免疫应答,为流感黏膜疫苗的研制奠定了理论基础。     

Immune responses to stress proteins: Applications to infectious disease and cancer

Heat shock proteins, or stress proteins have been identified as part of a highly conserved cellular defence mechanism mediated by multiple, distinct gene familes and corresponding gene products. As intracellular chaperones, stress proteins participate in many essential biochemical pathways of protein maturation and function active during times of stress and during normal cellular homeostasis. In addition to their well-characterized role as protein chaperones, stress proteins are now realized to possess another important biological property: immunogenicity. Stress proteins are now understood to play a fundamental role in immune surveillance of infection and malignancy and this body of basic research has provided a framework for their clinical application. As key targets of both humoral and cellular immunity during infection, stress proteins have accordingly received considerable research interest as prophylactic vaccines for infectious disease applications. The unique and potent immunostimulatory properties of stress proteins have similarly been applied to the development of new approaches to cancer therapy, including both protein and gene-based modalities.     

转基因番茄口服疫苗的现状,问题及对策

日趋成熟的植物基因工程技术为转基因植物口服疫苗的研究提供了基础并带来了广阔的发展前景.番茄是最常用的转基因植物受体材料之一,可以直接生食避免了加热过程对外源蛋白的损伤.随着转基因植物免疫保护机制的进一步阐明以及国际番茄基因组测序计划的完成,转基因番茄口服疫苗的发展也迎来了新的机遇.但与此同时,我们也应看到转基因番茄口服疫苗仍存在诸多不确定的因素,如外源蛋白表达量不高、口服时可能被消化以及转基因植物安全性问题等.如何成功解决这些问题将成为转基因番茄口服疫苗发展过程中的重大考验.综述了植物口服疫苗这一概念出现后的近二十年中,番茄作为受体材料研制口服疫苗的现状,问题及对策,旨在为转基因番茄口服疫苗的进一步研究提供思路.     

Improvement of DNA vaccine immunogenicity by a dual antigen expression system

This study examined whether increased antigen expression resulted in enhanced antigen-specific immune responses in the context of DNA vaccines. To increase antigen expression, two copies of antigen expression cassettes were arranged in a plasmid pDX. BALB/c mice were intramuscularly immunized with various constructs that express influenza antigens and analysed for DNA-raised immunity. The plasmid pDX that expresses two copies of the antigen gene induced stronger antigen-specific immune responses than the plasmid pGA which expresses single antigen gene. To explore the in vivo transgene expression by pDX and pGA, luciferase activity was measured in the muscles transduced with luciferase expression plasmids. The pDX expressing two copies of luciferase induced the highest luciferase activity, which corresponded to the results from vaccination. We concluded that increasing the number of antigen expression cassettes in a vaccine construct improved antigen expression in the transduced tissue, which induced stronger DNA-raised immune responses.     

编码流感病毒血凝素基因和CD40L的核酸疫苗抗小鼠流感研究

为了检测表达CD40L的质粒能否作为核酸疫苗佐剂提高A/PR8/34流感病毒血凝素(HA)DNA疫苗的免疫应答,构建了表达鼠CD40L的质粒,并将它与A型流感病毒的 HA DNA疫苗用电击的方法共同免疫BALB/C小鼠(各30μg),免疫两次,间隔三周,第二次免疫后1周,用致死量流感病毒A/PR8/34攻击.发现与单独免疫30μg HA相比,血清中抗HA的IgG抗体量明显提高,且以IgG2a抗体提高为主,小鼠体重减轻非常少且体重恢复加快.实验结果显示,CD40L能作为流感病毒核酸疫苗佐剂,提高小鼠抗流感病毒攻击的能力.     

编码流感病毒血凝素基因和CD40L的核酸疫苗抗小鼠流感研究

为了检测表达CD40L的质粒能台作为核酸疫苗佐剂提高A／PR8／34流感病毒血凝素(HA)DNA疫苗的免疫应答,构建了表达鼠CD40L的质粒,行将它与A型流感病毒的HADNA疫苗用电击的方法共同免疫BALB／C小鼠(各30μg),免疫两次,间隔三周,第二次免疫后1周,用致死量流感病毒A／PR8／34攻击。发现与单独免疫30μgHA相比,血清中抗HA的IgG抗体节明显提高,且以IgG2a抗体提高为主,小鼠体重减轻非常少且体重恢复加快。实验结果显示,CD40L能作为流感病毒核酸疫苗佐剂,提高小鼠抗流感病毒攻击的能力。     

重组狂犬病病毒糖蛋白活酵母疫苗经小鼠口服给药后的免疫效果

目的:研究以活酵母为输送载体的狂犬病疫苗对小鼠的免疫保护能力和免疫疗程。方法:小鼠首先灌食高浓度空白活酵母INVSI,并于灌胃后8h和12h分别采集小鼠空肠和回肠组织并提取小肠浸出液培养,计算活酵母经肠胃环境后的存活率;分别取狂犬病糖蛋白(glycoprotein,G)分泌型表达菌株pYes-InG和胞内表达型菌株pYes-G灌胃小鼠,灌胃结束后12h采集小鼠血清和小肠组织,采用免疫组织化学方法检测抗原物质G在小肠上皮细胞的分布,采用ELISA检测小鼠血清中和性抗体的滴度。结果:活酵母经灌食消化8h后在小肠中的存活率最高达36.11%,12h后降至0.59%;口服分泌型pYes-InG重组酵母的小鼠小肠组织和血清中能检测到抗原物质G和低量的中和性抗体,ELISA分析显示,小鼠经过3~4次免疫接种,免疫效果基本恒定,而口服胞内表达型pYes-G重组酵母的小鼠小肠组织和血清中均未检测到目标物。结论:分泌型重组酵母pYes-InG经多次口服可对狂犬病起到一定的预防作用,但它诱导产生的中和性抗体浓度低,免疫应答慢,虽不适合用于控制突发性狂犬病的传染以及治疗狂犬病患者,但从免疫机制、免疫方式、安全性以及生产成本等因素考虑,仍具有良好的研究价值。     

Persistent antibody and T cell responses induced by HIV-1 DNA vaccine delivered by electroporation

Intramuscular needle injection of HIV-1 DNA vaccines typically elicits weak immune responses in immunized individuals. To improve such responses, the immunogenicity of a vaccine consisting of electroporated DNA followed by intramuscular protein boost was evaluated in rabbits and macaques. In macaques, electroporation of low dose DNA encoding HIV-1 env followed by gp120 protein elicited Th1 cytokines and functional CTL that persisted for over 1 year. In both macaques and rabbits, robust anti-envelope antibodies, elicited by electroporated DNA, were augmented by gp120 protein and such responses neutralized sensitive SHIV isolates. These findings highlight efficient priming of immune responses by electroporated DNA that in conjunction with protein boost may give rise to long-term immunity in immunized hosts.