Incorporation of soluble antigens into ISCOMs: HIV gp120 ISCOMs induce virus neutralizing antibodies

Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Systems for Vaccines

Vaccination is still the most cost-effective way to combat infectious illnesses. Conventional vaccinations may have low immunogenicity and, in most situations, only provide partial protection. A new class of nanoparticle-based vaccinations has shown considerable promise in addressing the majority of the shortcomings of traditional and subunit vaccines. This is due to recent breakthroughs in chemical and biological engineering, which allow for the exact regulation of nanoparticle size, shape, functionality, and surface characteristics, resulting in improved antigen presentation and robust immunogenicity. A blend of physicochemical, immunological, and toxicological experiments can be used to accurately characterize nanovaccines. This narrative review will provide an overview of the current scenario of the nanovaccine.

Vaccine delivery using nanoparticles

Vaccination has had a major impact on the control of infectious diseases. However, there are still many infectious diseases for which the development of an effective vaccine has been elusive. In many cases the failure to devise vaccines is a consequence of the inability of vaccine candidates to evoke appropriate immune responses. This is especially true where cellular immunity is required for protective immunity and this problem is compounded by the move toward devising sub-unit vaccines. Over the past decade nanoscale size (<1000 nm) materials such as virus-like particles, liposomes, ISCOMs, polymeric, and non-degradable nanospheres have received attention as potential delivery vehicles for vaccine antigens which can both stabilize vaccine antigens and act as adjuvants. Importantly, some of these nanoparticles (NPs) are able to enter antigen-presenting cells by different pathways, thereby modulating the immune response to the antigen. This may be critical for the induction of protective Th1-type immune responses to intracellular pathogens. Their properties also make them suitable for the delivery of antigens at mucosal surfaces and for intradermal administration. In this review we compare the utilities of different NP systems for the delivery of sub-unit vaccines and evaluate the potential of these delivery systems for the development of new vaccines against a range of pathogens.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunopathogenesis and vaccine development: a review

The development of a safe, effective and globally affordable HIV vaccine offers the best hope for the future control of the HIV-1 pandemic. Since 1987, scores of candidate HIV-1 vaccines have been developed which elicited varying degrees of protective responses in nonhuman primate models, including DNA vaccines, subunit vaccines, live vectored recombinant vaccines and various prime-boost combinations. Four of these candidate vaccines have been tested for efficacy in human volunteers, but, to the exception of the recent RV144 Phase III trial in Thailand, which elicited a modest but statistically significant level of protection against infection, none has shown efficacy in preventing HIV-1 infection or in controlling virus replication and delaying progression of disease in humans. Protection against infection was observed in the RV144 trial, but intensive research is needed to try to understand the protective immune mechanisms at stake. Building-up on the results of the RV144 trial and deciphering what possibly are the immune correlates of protection are the top research priorities of the moment, which will certainly accelerate the development of an highly effective vaccine that could be used in conjunction with other HIV prevention and treatment strategies. This article reviews the state of the art of HIV vaccine development and discusses the formidable scientific challenges met in this endeavor, in the context of a better understanding of the immunopathogenesis of the disease.

ISCOM TM ‐based vaccines: The second decade

The immunostimulating complex or 'iscom' was first described 20 years ago as an antigen delivery system with powerful immunostimulating activity. Iscoms are cage-like structures, typically 40 nm in diameter, that are comprised of antigen, cholesterol, phospholipid and saponin. ISCOM-based vaccines have been shown to promote both antibody and cellular immune responses in a variety of experimental animal models. This review focuses on the evaluation of ISCOM-based vaccines in animals over the past 10 years, as well as examining the progress that has been achieved in the development of human vaccines based on ISCOM adjuvant technology.

Mucosal AIDS vaccines

Debates are still being waged over what is the best strategy for developing a potent AIDS vaccine. All the obvious approaches to making AIDS vaccines have been tried in the past two decades without much success. It is clear that new thinking and a revision of prevailing dogmas needs to be in place if we really want a vaccine. Conventional envelope-based antibody-inducing vaccines do not appear to hold promise, and broadly-neutralizing antibodies are now being searched as an alternative to the failed approach with subunit vaccines. The current consensus is that cellular immune responses, especially those mediated by CD8 cytotoxic/suppressor (CTL) and CD4 helper T lymphocytes, are needed to control HIV. Vaccines capable of inducing cell-mediated responses are, therefore, considered critical for controlling the spread of HIV. DNA-based vaccines triggering CTL reaction are currently thought to be an answer, but will they fulfill the promise? In the following paragraphs, a critical assessment of the state of the art will be provided in an attempt to analyze what we know and still don't know. The focus of this review is primarily on mucosal vaccines-a relatively new area in AIDS research. The update on V-1 Immunitor, the first mucosal AIDS vaccine available commercially, is provided within this context. Some of the reviewed concepts may be disputable, but without departure from the uninspiring consensus no substantial progress in the AIDS vaccine field can be envisioned.

Generating neutralizing antibodies, Th1 response and MHC non restricted immunogenicity of HIV-I env and gag peptides in liposomes and ISCOMs with in-built adjuvanticity

For enhancing immunogenicity and develop vaccine strategies using peptide based constructs against HIV-1, a chimeric peptide containing V3 loop and transmembrane sequence of gp41 with two glycine motifs as spacer was constructed. The V3-gp41, gp41 peptide and p17 and p24 peptides separately or in a cocktail were entrapped with or without MA729 as an immunoadjuvant in liposomes or ISCOMs. The immunogenicity, antigen induced T-cell proliferation and cytokine profiles of various formulations were studied in four different inbred strains of mice of H-2^d, H-2^b, H-2^k and H-2^q haplotypes, keeping alum as a control adjuvant. Both liposomes and ISCOM preparations elicited high titer and long lasting antibody response (60 days and above). When compared to the alum formulation, the liposomes co-entrapped with MA729 produced high antibody levels, comparable with that induced by ISCOMs. Peptide in alum, liposomes and ISCOMs enhanced both antigen specific IgG2a and IgG2b isotypes and high T-cell stimulation index. Peptide formulations also induced antibodies with high affinity and in vitro neutralizated the formation of HIV-1 syncytia. T-cell supernatants contained high levels of IFN-γ and IL-2. Thus formulation in these adjuvants induced a predominant Th1 like response with MA729 as a versatile novel delivery vehicle for stimulating the appropriate arm of the immune response that can selectively modulate MHC class I or MHC class II response. The above peptide can be of wide vaccination interest as a means to improve immune responses to several other HIV-1 antigens and may serve as candidates for vaccine development.

The ultrastructure of tomatine adjuvant

The tomatine adjuvant, consisting of tomatine, n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, phosphatidylethanolamine, cholesterol, and ovalbumin, has recently been shown to potentiate the immunogenicity of protein antigen and elicit cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses in immunized animals. The physicochemical properties of tomatine adjuvant have not been characterized. The aim of this study was to examine the microstructure of this complex formulation, as directly related to its physicochemical properties. To elucidate the micromorphology of this system, the tomatine adjuvant was separated by isopycnic ultracentrifugation, followed by freeze fracturing and examination by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The adjuvant mixture was shown to be composed of several micro- and nano-structures. The major fraction obtained from isopycnic separation was shown to consist of flaky needle-like microcrystals, approximately 80-160 nm in width and 2-4 microm in length. The tomatine crystals alone in 0.9% NaCl, on the other hand, were shown to be elongated hollow tubular crystals of hundreds of nanometers up to a few microns in length, along which n-octyl-beta-glucopyranoside was speculated to serve as a seeding microtemplate for gel crystallization of protein complexes. Indented marks within the gel phase were observed in the freeze fractured replicas of the adjuvant, suggesting that protein complexes may have been crystallized or precipitated within the gels. Several other forms of micro- and nano-structures were also observed, showing multiple-dispersion features with gel characteristics. The presence of gel crystalline and multiple-dispersed phases is postulated to contribute to the sustained immunopotentiation effect of tomatine adjuvant.

Crossreactive neutralizing antibodies induced by immunization with caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus surface glycoprotein

Four Saanen goats were immunized with affinity purified gp135 surface glycoprotein (SU) of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus isolate 79-63 (CAEV-63) and evaluated for homologous and crossreactive serum neutralizing antibodies. CAEV-63 neutralizing antibodies were detected in all goats after seven immunizations with SU in Quil A adjuvant. Sera from three goats neutralized an independent CAEV isolate (CAEV-Co). However, serum from one goat did not detectably neutralize heterologous CAEV-Co and inhibited CAEV-Co neutralization by another serum.

Immunomodulation by iscoms, immune stimulating complexes

The iscom is a uniform stable complex consisting of cholesterol, phospholipid, adjuvant-active saponin, and antigen. The iscom matrix is a particulate complex with identical composition, shape, and morphology, but lacking the incorporated antigen. The assembly of the complex is based on hydrophobic interactions, but antigens that are not hydrophobic can be conjugated with a hydrophobic tail or hidden hydrophobic regions can be exposed, e.g., by acid treatment, to facilitate the incorporation into iscoms. The functional aspects of iscoms are described emphasizing immunomodulation in mouse models. Iscoms prominently enhance the antigen targeting, uptake, and activity of antigen presenting cells including dendritic and B cells and macrophages resulting in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, above all interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and IL-12. The expression of costimulatory molecules major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, B7.1 and B7.2, is also enhanced. The latter partly explains why the iscom is an efficient adjuvant for elderly mice. Iscoms enhance the Th1 type of response with increased production of IL-2 and interferon gamma. However, with some antigens and particularly in monkeys immunized with HIV iscoms, the production of IL-4 was enhanced. IL-4, IL-2, and interferon gamma (IFNgamma) together with the beta chemokines MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta correlated with protection against challenge infection with a chimeric virus (simian immunodeficiency virus-human immunodeficiency virus). Iscoms were also shown to induce a potent immune response in the newborn and to be an efficient delivery system for mucosal administration. Technical information is given about formulation of iscoms and about handling of antigens to optimize their incorporation into iscoms.

Enhancement of HIV type 1 vaccine immunogenicity by block copolymer adjuvants. I. Induction of high-titer, long-lasting, cross-reactive antibodies of broad isotype

Improvements in HIV-1 vaccines are urgently needed since many of the available vaccines are weak immunogens. We examined the ability of CRL1005, a novel nonionic block copolymer adjuvant, to improve the immunogenicity of multiple HIV-1 envelope vaccines: six gp120s and single and multiple V3 peptides (MAPs). Formulation of vaccine with adjuvant, as compared with alum or saline, enhanced antibody titer in mice up to 200-fold, with antibody half-lives of >200 days. For most vaccinations, an oil-in-water formulation induced the highest antibody titers; for some antigens, however, particularly single peptides, water-in-oil (w/o) was better. Antigen cross-reactivity was optimized by formulation in w/o, while addition of detoxified lipopolysaccharide enhanced levels of IgG2a and IgG2b. After more than 1 year of observation, no vaccine-related toxicity was observed and emulsified antigen in encapsulated depots was found at immunization sites of w/o-immunized animals. No other adjuvant has been reported to induce such long-lasting antibodies, and the ability of CRL1005 to greatly amplify and qualitatively modify antibody responses suggests that it may be useful in developing improved HIV vaccines for humans.

Immune stimulating complexes as mucosal vaccines

There is a need for non-living adjuvant vectors that will allow a full range of local and systemic immune responses to orally administered purified antigens. Here we describe our experience with lipophilic immune-stimulating complexes (ISCOMs) containing the saponin adjuvant Quil A. When given orally, ISCOMs containing the model protein antigen ovalbumin (OVA) induce a wide range of systemic immune responses, including Th1 and Th2 CD4-dependent activity, serum IgG antibodies and class I MHC-restricted cytotoxic T cell responses. In addition, there is local production of secretory IgA antibodies in the intestine itself, as well as priming of CD4 and CD8 T cell responses in the draining lymphoid tissues. Preliminary results indicate that the mucosal adjuvant properties of ISCOMs may reflect their ability to deliver antigen combined with the pro-inflammatory properties of Quil A in a particulate form. Of the many inflammatory mediators induced, interleukin-12, derived from dendritic cells and/or macrophages, appears to be of central importance. These results indicate that ISCOMs may prove to be useful mucosal vaccine vectors with functions which are distinct from existing vectors of this type.

Synthetic peptide vaccines: palmitoylation of peptide antigens by a thioester bond increases immunogenicity

Synthetic peptides have frequently been used to immunize animals. However, peptides less than about 20 to 30 amino acids long are poor immunogens. In general, to increase its immunogenicity, the presentation of the peptide should be improved, and molecular weight needs to be increased. Many attempts have been made to couple peptide immunogens to different carrier proteins [e.g. keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) or ovalbumin]. This leads to very complex structures, however. We used a controlled conjugation of a peptide to a single long-chain fatty acid like palmitic acid by a thioester or an amide bond. It was found that these S-palmitoylated peptides were much more immunogenic than N-palmitoylated peptides and at least similar to KLH-conjugated peptides with respect to appearance and magnitude of induced antibodies (canine parvovirus) or immunocastration effect (gonadotropin-releasing hormone). For chemical synthesis of thioesters, we established conditions for solution and solid-phase synthesis. In both phases, Cys(SBut) could only be deprotected efficiently using phosphines, and S-acylation was accomplished using standard coupling at pH 5. We speculate that, in vivo, the presence of an appropriate fatty acid chain, chemically linked through a labile thioester bond, greatly enhances immunogenicity, because it represents a favourable substrate for cleavage by cellular thioesterases in cells of the immune system.

Induction of homologous virus neutralizing antibodies in guinea-pigs immunized with two human immunodeficiency virus type 1 glycoprotein gp120-iscom preparations. A comparison with other adjuvant systems

The immunogenicity in guinea-pigs of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 in immune stimulating complex (iscom) was compared to that of gp120 adjuvanted with QuilA-matrix (iscom without attached antigen), aluminium hydroxide (alum) and the Ribi adjuvant system. Gp120 was either incorporated into iscoms by covalent conjugation (iscom(c)) or by acid treatment of gp120 (iscom(a) and both these preparations induced high ELISA antibody titres to gp120. Virus neutralizing (VN) antibodies were most frequently induced by gp120 in iscom(c), iscom(a) or in alum and correlated to high titres to the V3-region of gp120. Further, antibodies induced by gp120-iscom(c) most efficiently inhibited binding of a VN monoclonal antibody GP13 to the CD4 binding region of gp120 whereas gp120-iscom(a) induced the highest mean titre of antibodies blocking the binding of [125I]gp120 to CD4. These results suggest that the gp120-iscom preparations efficiently induced high levels of gp120 specific antibodies and that the adjuvant formulation of gp120 affect the specificity and functional properties of elicited antibodies.

ISCOMs (immunostimulating complexes): the first decade

A little over a decade ago, novel immunostimulating complexes (ISCOMs) were described. This review examines the position and progress that ISCOM technology has achieved in the fields of vaccine research and medicine over this period. Much of the work on ISCOMs has remained in the area of vaccine research where there is still an urgent need for improved adjuvants to help combat important diseases such as AIDS, malaria and influenza. Currently the only widely licensed adjuvants for human use are the aluminium salts, but with the trend towards highly purified subunit vaccines, which are inherently less immunogenic than some of the older vaccines, potent adjuvants capable of promoting specific immune responses are required. ISCOMs are one such technology that offers many of these requirements and as their use in vaccines enters its second decade clinical trials are commencing that will establish whether these submicron, non-living particles composed of saponin, cholesterol, phospholipid and in many cases protein, are useful components for a range of human vaccines.

The needs and hopes for an AIDS vaccine

This article reviews the many difficulties met in the development of an effective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including the considerable antigenic variability of the virus, its intracellular mode of transmission, its mucosal port of entry, and the persistent nature of the infection. Progresses in the development of prototype vaccines in animal models are discussed together with the results of initial clinical trials in human volunteers.