Influenza antigen-sparing by immune stimulation with Gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM) particles.

Gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM) particles, produced from non-genetically modified Lactococcus lactis bacteria have an inherent immunostimulatory activity. It was investigated whether co-administration of GEM particles can reduce the amount of influenza subunit vaccine (HA) necessary to protect mice from viral infection. Decreasing HA amounts of 5, 1, 0.2 and 0.04µg admixed with GEM particles were tested in intramuscular immunizations. Combinations of GEM and seasonal HA (A/Wisconsin/67/2005 [H3N2]) induced significantly higher systemic and better Th1/Th2-type balanced immune responses than HA alone. Addition of GEM to 0.04µg HA resulted in similar HI titers as 1-5µg non-adjuvanted HA. To test the protective efficacy of the adjuvanted combination, mice were immunized with influenza subunit vaccine A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) and then challenged with live virus (A/PR/8/34). Mice immunized with 1µg HA+GEM showed undetectable virus titers in the lungs 5 days after challenge, whereas mice immunized with 1µg HA alone showed detectable levels of virus in the lungs. Interestingly, mice vaccinated with the 0.04µg HA+GEM vaccine demonstrated reduced lung virus titers and a reduction in weight that was similar as that in mice vaccinated with 1µg non-adjuvanted HA. These results indicate that the use of GEM as immunostimulant allows for a strong reduction in the antigen dose as compared to the benchmark vaccine by using GEM particles. Thus, addition of GEM can strongly potentiate immunogenicity of influenza subunit vaccine both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Incorporation of LpxL1, a detoxified lipopolysaccharide adjuvant, in influenza H5N1 virosomes increases vaccine immunogenicity.

The increasing number of human influenza H5N1 infections accentuates the need for the development of H5N1 vaccine candidates to prevent a potential influenza pandemic. The use of adjuvants in such vaccines can contribute significantly to antigen dose-sparing. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of the non-toxic Neisseria meningitidis lipopolysaccharide analog LpxL1 to function as an adjuvant for an influenza H5N1 virosomal vaccine. Inactivated influenza H5N1 virus (NIBRG-14) was used to construct virosomes (reconstituted virus envelopes) with LpxL1 incorporated in the virosomal membrane thus combining the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) antigen and the adjuvant in the same particle. Mice were immunized in a one- or two-dose immunization regimen with H5N1 virosomes with or without incorporated LpxL1. After a single immunization, H5N1 virosomes with incorporated LpxL1 induced significantly enhanced H5N1-specific total IgG titers as compared to non-adjuvanted virosomes but hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers remained low. In the two-dose immunization regimen, LpxL1-modified H5N1 virosomes induced HI titers above 40 which were significantly higher than those obtained with non-adjuvanted virosomes. Incorporation of LpxL1 had little effect on virosome-induced IgG1 levels, but significantly increased IgG2a levels in both the one- and two-dose immunization regimen. Compared to non-adjuvanted virosomes, LpxL1-modified virosomes induced similar numbers of IFNgamma-producing T cells but decreased numbers of IL-4-producing T cells irrespective of the number of immunizations. We conclude that LpxL1 incorporated in H5N1 influenza virosomes has the capacity to function as a potent adjuvant particularly stimulating Th1-type immune reactions.