A vaccine for hypertension based on virus-like particles: preclinical efficacy and phase I safety and immunogenicity.

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of efficacious drugs, the success of treating hypertension is limited by patients' inconsistent drug intake. Immunization against angiotensin II may offer a valuable alternative to conventional drugs for the treatment of hypertension, because vaccines induce relatively long-lasting effects and do not require daily dosing. Here we describe the preclinical development and the phase I clinical trial testing of a virus-like particle (VLP)-based antihypertensive vaccine. METHODS AND RESULTS: An angiotensin II-derived peptide was conjugated to the VLP Qbeta (AngQb). AngQb was highly immunogenic in mice and rats. To test for efficacy, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were immunized with 400 microg AngQb or VLP alone. Group mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was reduced by up to 21 mmHg (159 +/- 2 versus 180 +/- 5 mmHg, P < 0.001), and total angiotensin II levels (antibody-bound and free) were increased ninefold (85 +/- 20 versus 9 +/- 1 pmol/l, P = 0.002) compared with VLP controls. SHR treated with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor ramipril (1 mg/kg per day by mouth) reached an SBP of 155 +/- 2 mmHg. Twelve healthy volunteers of a placebo-controlled randomized phase I trial were injected once with 100 microg AngQb. Angiotensin II-specific antibodies were raised in all subjects (100% responder rate) and AngQb was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: AngQb reduces blood pressure in SHR to levels obtained with an ACE inhibitor, and is immunogenic and well tolerated in humans. Therefore, vaccination against angiotensin II has the potential to become a useful antihypertensive treatment providing long-lasting effects and improving patient compliance.

A therapeutic vaccine for nicotine dependence: preclinical efficacy, and Phase I safety and immunogenicity.

Nicotine is the principal addictive component in tobacco, and following uptake acts in the central nervous system. The smoking-cessation efforts of most smokers fail because a single slip often delivers sufficient nicotine to the brain to reinstate the drug-seeking behaviour. Blocking nicotine from entering the brain by induction of specific antibodies may be an effective means to prevent such relapses. The hapten nicotine was coupled to virus-like particles (VLP) formed by the coat protein of the bacteriophage Qb. In preclinical experiments, this Nicotine-Qb VLP (NicQb) vaccine induced strong antibody responses. After intravenous nicotine challenge, vaccinated mice exhibited strongly reduced nicotine levels in the brain compared with control mice. In a phase I study, 32 healthy non-smokers were immunized with NicQb. The vaccine was safe and well-tolerated. All volunteers who received NicQb showed nicotine-specific IgM antibodies at day 7 and nicotine-specific IgG antibodies at day 14. Antibody levels could be boosted by a second injection or the addition of Alum as an adjuvant and the antibodies had a high affinity for nicotine. These data suggest that antibodies induced by NicQb may prevent relapses by sequestering nicotine in the blood of immunized smokers.