ABSTRACT
Essen regimen, the Thai Red Cross two-site ID regimen, Zagreb schedule, and the eight-site ID regimen are the standard rabies vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this study, a liposomal rabies vaccine (LipoRV) was developed, which was found to facilitate the production of rabies virus neutralizing antibody (RVNA) in BALB/c mice. Liposome solution was prepared with hydrogenated soya phosphatide and cholesterol. LipoRV composed of liposome solution and inactivated rabies vaccine (IRV). The immune responses were compared between the mice treated with either LipoRV or IRV. Higher levels of interleukin-2 (p < 0.05), interferon-γ (p < 0.01), and natural killer cell activity (p < 0.05) were observed in the mice immunized with LipoRV than those with IRV. The potency of LipoRV was significantly higher than that IRV (p < 0.05). In addition, three injections of LipoRV on days 0, 3, and 14 could elicit similar RVNA levels as the five shots of IRV. Our data also showed a higher survival rate in mice treated with three shots of LipoRV (56.2%) than five shots of IRV (40.6%). In conclusion, liposome enhances the immune response of mice to rabies vaccine and could be applied as a potential immunopotentiator.
