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Heidarnejad F, Bolhassani A, Ajdary S, Milani A, Sadeghi SA. Investigation of Immunostimulatory Effects of IFN-γ Cytokine and CD40 Ligand Costimulatory Molecule for Development of HIV-1 Therapeutic Vaccine Candidate. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2024; 8:e2300402. [PMID: 37840398 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
The most crucial disadvantage of DNA-based vaccines is their low immunogenicity; therefore, finding an effectual adjuvant is essential for their development. Herein, immunostimulatory effects of IFNγ cytokine and a CD40 ligand (CD40L) costimulatory molecule are evaluated as combined with an antigen, and also linked to an antigen in mice. For this purpose, after preparation of the HIV-1 Nef, IFNγ, and CD40L DNA constructs, and also their recombinant protein in an Escherichia coli expression system, nine groups of female BALB/c mice are immunized with different regimens of DNA constructs. About 3 weeks and also 3 months after the last injection, humoral and cellular immune responses are assessed in mice sera and splenocytes. Additionally, mice splenocytes are exposed to single-cycle replicable (SCR) HIV-1 virions for evaluating their potency in the secretion of cytokines in vitro. The data indicate that the linkage of IFNγ and CD40L to Nef antigen can significantly induce the Th-1 pathway and activate cytotoxic T lymphocytes compared to other regimens. Moreover, groups receiving the IFNγ-Nef and CD40L-Nef fusion DNA constructs show higher secretion of IFNγ and TNF-α from virion-infected lymphocytes than other groups. Therefore, the IFNγ-Nef and CD40L-Nef fusion DNA constructs are suggested to be a potential option for development of an efficient HIV-1 vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Heidarnejad
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
| | - Azam Bolhassani
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
| | - Soheila Ajdary
- Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
| | - Alireza Milani
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
- Iranian Comprehensive Hemophilia Care Center, Tehran, 1415863675, Iran
| | - Seyed Amir Sadeghi
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, 1316943551, Iran
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Kalanaky S, Fakharzadeh S, Karimi P, Hafizi M, Jamaati H, Hassanzadeh SM, Khorasani A, Mahdavi M, Nazaran MH. Nanoadjuvants Produced by Advanced Nanochelating Technology in the Inactivated-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Vaccine Formulation: Preliminary Results on Cytokines and IgG Responses. Viral Immunol 2023; 36:409-423. [PMID: 37506342 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2023.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the great success of vaccines in various infectious diseases, most current vaccines are not effective enough, and on the contrary, clinically approved alum adjuvants cannot induce sufficient immune responses, including a potent cellular immune response to confer protection. In this study, we used Nanochelating Technology to develop novel nanoadjuvants to boost the potency of the alum-adjuvanted inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. BALB/c mice were immunized twice over 2 weeks with different doses of adjuvanted-vaccine formulations and immune responses were assessed. The analysis results of IFN-γ and IL-17 cytokines demonstrated the effectiveness of the nanoadjuvants produced by the Nanochelating Technology in shifting the alum-based vaccine toward a stronger Th1 pattern. In addition, these nanoadjuvants improved IL-2 cytokine response, which shows the efficacy of these novel formulations in inducing specific T lymphocyte proliferation. Using these nanoadjuvants increased IL-10 cytokine secretion that may be representative of a better immunoregulatory impact and may also potentially prevent immunopathology responses. Moreover, specific IgG titer analysis revealed the potency of these nanoadjuvants in improving humoral immune responses. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific IgG response showed that the developed novel formulations induced strong IgG responses against this protein. This study shows that the nanostructures produced by the Advanced Nanochelating Technology have potent adjuvant effects on alum-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to not only compensate for alum weakness in inducing the cellular immune responses by smart regulation of the immune system but also significantly improve the humoral and cellular immune responses simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somayeh Kalanaky
- Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saideh Fakharzadeh
- Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
| | - Pegah Karimi
- Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Hafizi
- Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamidreza Jamaati
- Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, NRITLD, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Mehdi Hassanzadeh
- Department of BCG Vaccine Production, Production and Research Complex, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Karaj, Iran
| | - Akbar Khorasani
- Department of FMD Vaccine Production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Mehdi Mahdavi
- Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
- Recombinant Vaccine Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Immunotherapy Group, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Medical Division, Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hassan Nazaran
- Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
- Owner of Nanochelating Technology and Executive Manager and Chairman of Management Board of Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran
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Haghighi M, Khorasani A, Karimi P, Keshavarz R, Mahdavi M. Different Formulations of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidates in Human Compatible Adjuvants: Potency Studies in Mice Showed Different Platforms of Immune Responses. Viral Immunol 2022; 35:663-672. [PMID: 36534465 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2022.0022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Several inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been approved for human use, but are not highly potent. In this study, different formulations of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus were developed in Alum, Montanide 51VG, and Montanide ISA720VG adjuvants, followed by assessment of immune responses. The SARS-CoV-2 virus was inactivated with formalin and formulated in the adjuvants. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously with 4 μg of vaccines on days 0 and 14; (IL-4) and (IFN-g), cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, and specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer and IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2a/IgG1 ratio, and anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG response were assessed 2 weeks after the final immunization. Immunization with SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG showed a significant increase in the IFN-γ cytokine versus SARS-CoV-2-Alum, SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA720VG, and control groups (p < 0.0033). Cytokine IL-4 response in SARS-CoV-2-Alum group showed a significant increase compared with SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG, SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA720VG, and control groups (p < 0.0206). In addition, SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG vaccine induced the highest IFN-γ/IL-4 cytokine ratio versus other groups (p < 0.0004). CTL activity in SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG and SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA720VG groups showed a significant increase compared with SARS-CoV-2-Alum and control groups (p < 0.0075). Specific IgG titer in SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51 VG and SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA720VG showed a significant increase compared with SARS-CoV-2-Alum and control groups (p < 0.0143). Results from specific IgG1and IgG2a in SARS-CoV-2-Alum, SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG, and SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA720VG vaccine showed a significant increase compared with phosphate buffer saline (PBS) group (p < 0.0001), but SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG and SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA 720VG groups showed the highest IgG2a/IgG1 ratio and a significant increase compared with SARS-CoV-2-Alum group (p < 0.0379). Moreover, inactivated SARS-CoV-2+Alum and SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA 720VG groups demonstrated a significant increase in anti-RBD IgG response versus the SARS-CoV-2-Montanide ISA51VG group. It seems that the type of vaccine formulation is a critical parameter, influencing the immunologic pattern and vaccine potency and human-compatible oil-based adjuvants were more potent than Alum adjuvant in the vaccine formulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melika Haghighi
- Department of FMD Vaccine Production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Akbar Khorasani
- Department of FMD Vaccine Production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Pegah Karimi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Rouhollah Keshavarz
- PPD Tuberculin Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Mehdi Mahdavi
- Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran.,Recombinant Vaccine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Immunotherapy Group, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Science (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
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