Journal of Clinical Immunology and Allergy

Abstract

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is highly prevalent in children and manifests itself in the form of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Due to the failure of several vaccination trials using the inactivated form of the virus there is a need for a safe and effective vaccine. One of the major proteins present in the virus is the fusion protein F, which can be integrated into a Virus-Like Particle (VLP), yielding a highly immunogenic F-VLP antigen. Novel adjuvants that contain immune enhancer molecules are now co-administered with human vaccines either licensed or in clinical trials. Adjuvants approved for human use were tested along with the micro particulate vaccine to improve the magnitude and longevity of the adaptive immune response. In this study, the F-VLP antigen was incorporated into a biodegradable polymer matrix and it’s in vitro immunogenicity was evaluated in a mechanistic study to evaluate surface costimulatory expression, wherein antigen presenting cells were stimulated with the vaccine-adjuvant combinations. Particulate vaccines with or without adjuvants significantly increase expression of immune markers such as nitric oxide and resulted in enhanced cell-surface expression of CD80/86, CD40, MHC II and CD54/ICAM-I on dendritic cells. In vivo studies using the non-invasive transdermal route demonstrated elevated hormonal and cell-mediated immune responses in a mouse model.