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. 2014 Sep 3;32(39):5035-40.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.07.015. Epub 2014 Jul 18.

Improving the Th1 cellular efficacy of the lead Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine using SA-4-1BBL as a novel adjuvant

Gunes Dinc  1 , Jarrod M Pennington  2 , Esma S Yolcu  1 , Matthew B Lawrenz  3 , Haval Shirwan  4
Affiliations

Improving the Th1 cellular efficacy of the lead Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine using SA-4-1BBL as a novel adjuvant

Gunes Dinc et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

The lead candidate plague subunit vaccine is the recombinant fusion protein rF1-V adjuvanted with alum. While alum generates Th2 regulated robust humoral responses, immune protection against Yersinia pestis has been shown to also involve Th1 driven cellular responses. Therefore, the rF1-V-based subunit vaccine may benefit from an adjuvant system that generates a mixed Th1 and humoral immune response. We herein assessed the efficacy of a novel SA-4-1BBL costimulatory molecule as a Th1 adjuvant to improve cellular responses generated by the rF1-V vaccine. SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant had better efficacy than alum in generating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells producing TNFα and IFNγ, signature cytokines for Th1 responses. The combination of SA-4-1BBL with alum further increased this Th1 response as compared with the individual adjuvants. Analysis of the humoral response revealed that SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant did not generate a significant Ab response against rF1-V, and SA-4-1BBL in combination with alum did not improve Ab titers. However, the combined adjuvants significantly increased the ratio of Th1 regulated IgG2c in C57BL/6 mice to the Th2 regulated IgG1. Finally, a single vaccination with rF1-V adjuvanted with SA-4-1BBL+alum had better protective efficacy than vaccines containing individual adjuvants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SA-4-1BBL improves the protective efficacy of the alum adjuvanted lead rF1-V subunit vaccine by generating a more balanced Th1 cellular and humoral immune response. As such, this adjuvant platform may prove efficacious not only for the rF1-V vaccine but also against other infections that require both cellular and humoral immune responses for protection.

Keywords: 4-1BB; 4-1BBL; Adjuvant; Alum; CD137; Costimulation; Plague; SA-4-1BBL; Subunit vaccine; Th(1) response; rF1-V.

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