Conjugation of β-glucan markedly increase the immunogencity of meningococcal group Y polysaccharide conjugate vaccine. Issue 17 (21st April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Qiao, Weilin; Ji, Shaoyang; Zhao, Yubao; Hu, Tao
• Is Part Of: Vaccine. Volume 33:Issue 17(2015)
• Page Start: 2066
• Page End: 2072
• Publication Date: 2015-04-21
• Subjects: Meningococcal polysaccharide -- Conjugate vaccine -- β-Glucan -- Adjuvant; Vaccines -- Periodicals; 615.372
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.02.045
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-410X

Abstract

Highlights: Conjugation of β-glucan led to an 8.2-fold increase in the PS-specific IgG titers of PS-TT. Conjugation of β-glucan slightly increased the immunogical memory of PS-TT. Conjugation of β-glucan increased the hydrodynamic volume of PS-TT. Co-administration of β-glucan suppressed the PS-specific immunogenicity of PS-TT. Abstract: Meningococcal disease is a fatal illness of sudden onset caused by Neisseria meningitides . Meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is a major virulence factor that generally does not induce immunological memory. Conjugation with a carrier protein can significantly increase the immunogenicity of CPS and induce immunological memory. However, it is highly desired to optimize the CPS-specific immunogenicity of the conjugate vaccine. Although adjuvant has been widely used to improve the immunogenicity of antigens, co-administration and conjugation of adjuvant with the conjugate vaccine has rarely been investigated. As a stimulator of humoral and cellular immunity, β-glucan can activate macrophages and trigger intracellular processes to secrete cytokines initiating inflammatory reactions. In the present study, a conjugate vaccine (CPS-TT) was generated by conjugation of tetanus toxoid (TT) with meningococcal group Y CPS. CPS-TT was further conjugated with β-glucan to generate CPS-TT-G. Immunization with CPS-TT-G led to an 8.2-fold increase in the CPS-specific IgG titers as compared with CPS-TT. Presumably, conjugation of β-glucan ensured the two components to simultaneously reach the antigen presenting cells and stimulate the immune response. In contrast, co-administration of β-glucan suppressed the CPS-specific immunogenicity of CPS-TT. Thus, conjugation of β-glucan is an effective strategy to markedly improve the CPS-specific immunogenicity of the conjugate vaccine.