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Siram K, Lathrop SK, Abdelwahab WM, Tee R, Davison CJ, Partlow HA, Evans JT, Burkhart DJ. Co-Delivery of Novel Synthetic TLR4 and TLR7/8 Ligands Adsorbed to Aluminum Salts Promotes Th1-Mediated Immunity against Poorly Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 RBD. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 12:21. [PMID: 38250834 PMCID: PMC10818338 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12010021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the availability of effective vaccines against COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread worldwide, pressing the need for new vaccines with improved breadth and durability. We developed an adjuvanted subunit vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 using the recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spikes with synthetic adjuvants targeting TLR7/8 (INI-4001) and TLR4 (INI-2002), co-delivered with aluminum hydroxide (AH) or aluminum phosphate (AP). The formulations were characterized for the quantities of RBD, INI-4001, and INI-2002 adsorbed onto the respective aluminum salts. Results indicated that at pH 6, the uncharged RBD (5.73 ± 4.2 mV) did not efficiently adsorb to the positively charged AH (22.68 ± 7.01 mV), whereas it adsorbed efficiently to the negatively charged AP (-31.87 ± 0.33 mV). Alternatively, pre-adsorption of the TLR ligands to AH converted it to a negatively charged particle, allowing for the efficient adsorption of RBD. RBD could also be directly adsorbed to AH at a pH of 8.1, which changed the charge of the RBD to negative. INI-4001 and INI-2002 efficiently to AH. Following vaccination in C57BL/6 mice, both aluminum salts promoted Th2-mediated immunity when used as the sole adjuvant. Co-delivery with TLR4 and/or TLR7/8 ligands efficiently promoted a switch to Th1-mediated immunity instead. Measurements of viral neutralization by serum antibodies demonstrated that the addition of TLR ligands to alum also greatly improved the neutralizing antibody response. These results indicate that the addition of a TLR7/8 and/or TLR4 agonist to a subunit vaccine containing RBD antigen and alum is a promising strategy for driving a Th1 response and neutralizing antibody titers targeting SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - David J. Burkhart
- Center for Translational Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA; (K.S.); (S.K.L.); (W.M.A.); (R.T.); (C.J.D.); (H.A.P.); (J.T.E.)
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Mbhele Z, Thwala L, Khoza T, Ramagoma F. Evaluation of Aluminium Hydroxide Nanoparticles as an Efficient Adjuvant to Potentiate the Immune Response against Clostridium botulinum Serotypes C and D Toxoid Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1473. [PMID: 37766149 PMCID: PMC10535070 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11091473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridium botulinum serotypes C and D cause botulism in livestock, a neuroparalytic disease that results in substantial economic losses. Vaccination with aluminium-based toxoid vaccines is widely used to control the spread of botulism. Aluminium-based adjuvants are preferred owing to their apparent stimulation of the immune responses to toxoid vaccines when compared to other adjuvants. The aim of our study was to evaluate aluminium hydroxide nanoparticles as a potential substitute for alhydrogel in the botulism bivalent vaccine. Botulism vaccines were formulated with either alhydrogel or nanoalum and comparative efficacy between the two formulations was conducted by evaluating the immune response in vaccinated guinea pigs. A significant increase in immunological parameters was observed, with the antibody titres higher in the serum of guinea pigs (20 IU/mL of anti-BoNT C/D) injected with nanoalum-containing vaccine than guinea pigs inoculated with the standard alhydrogel-containing vaccine (8.7 IU/mL and 10 IU/mL of anti-BoNT C and anti-BoNT D, respectively). Additionally, the nanoalum-containing vaccine demonstrated potency in a multivalent vaccine (20 IU/mL of anti-BoNT C/D), while the standard alhydrogel-containing vaccine showed a decline in anti-BoNT C (5 IU/mL) antibody titres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziphezinhle Mbhele
- Onderstepoort Biological Products, 100 Old Soutpan Road, Onderstepoort, Pretoria 0110, South Africa; (Z.M.); (L.T.)
- Discipline of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa;
| | - Lungile Thwala
- Onderstepoort Biological Products, 100 Old Soutpan Road, Onderstepoort, Pretoria 0110, South Africa; (Z.M.); (L.T.)
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, National Laser Centre, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Thandeka Khoza
- Discipline of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa;
| | - Faranani Ramagoma
- Onderstepoort Biological Products, 100 Old Soutpan Road, Onderstepoort, Pretoria 0110, South Africa; (Z.M.); (L.T.)
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Kumru OS, Sanyal M, Friedland N, Hickey J, Joshi R, Weidenbacher P, Do J, Cheng YC, Kim PS, Joshi SB, Volkin DB. Formulation development and comparability studies with an aluminum-salt adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 Spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine antigen produced from two different cell lines. bioRxiv 2023:2023.04.03.535447. [PMID: 37066156 PMCID: PMC10103975 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.03.535447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
The development of safe and effective second-generation COVID-19 vaccines to improve affordability and storage stability requirements remains a high priority to expand global coverage. In this report, we describe formulation development and comparability studies with a self-assembled SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine antigen (called DCFHP), when produced in two different cell lines and formulated with an aluminum-salt adjuvant (Alhydrogel, AH). Varying levels of phosphate buffer altered the extent and strength of antigen-adjuvant interactions, and these formulations were evaluated for their (1) in vivo performance in mice and (2) in vitro stability profiles. Unadjuvanted DCFHP produced minimal immune responses while AH-adjuvanted formulations elicited greatly enhanced pseudovirus neutralization titers independent of ∼100%, ∼40% or ∼10% of the DCFHP antigen adsorbed to AH. These formulations differed, however, in their in vitro stability properties as determined by biophysical studies and a competitive ELISA for measuring ACE2 receptor binding of AH-bound antigen. Interestingly, after one month of 4°C storage, small increases in antigenicity with concomitant decreases in the ability to desorb the antigen from the AH were observed. Finally, we performed a comparability assessment of DCFHP antigen produced in Expi293 and CHO cells, which displayed expected differences in their N-linked oligosaccharide profiles. Despite consisting of different DCFHP glycoforms, these two preparations were highly similar in their key quality attributes including molecular size, structural integrity, conformational stability, binding to ACE2 receptor and mouse immunogenicity profiles. Taken together, these studies support future preclinical and clinical development of an AH-adjuvanted DCFHP vaccine candidate produced in CHO cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ozan S Kumru
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
| | - Mrinmoy Sanyal
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Natalia Friedland
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - John Hickey
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
| | - Richa Joshi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
| | - Payton Weidenbacher
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Jonathan Do
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Ya-Chen Cheng
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Peter S Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, 94305 USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sangeeta B Joshi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
| | - David B Volkin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
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Li W, Gong J, Wang C, Lin ZJ, Flarakos J. ICP-MS determination of serum aluminum in monkeys subcutaneously administered an alhydrogel-formulated drug candidate. Bioanalysis 2017; 9:1873-81. [PMID: 29171771 DOI: 10.4155/bio-2017-0177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM To develop and validate an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry method for quantitative bioanalysis of aluminum (Al) in monkey serum in support of a GLP TOX study with alhydrogel-formulated drug candidate. METHODS & RESULTS The method was linear over a dynamic range of 10-1000 ng/ml using a 50-μl sample volume. The intra-/inter-run precision (%CV) of the quality control sample results were ≤7.9% (CV) and the accuracy (%bias) within ±11.0% across all quality control concentrations evaluated. Other validation parameters, including stability under various conditions, extraction recovery and matrix effect, all met the acceptance criteria. CONCLUSION The validated method was successfully implemented for the quantitative analysis of Al in monkey serum to assess the systemic exposure to Al.
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Zhu D, Huang S, Gebregeorgis E, McClellan H, Dai W, Miller L, Saul A. Development of a Direct Alhydrogel Formulation Immunoassay (DAFIA). J Immunol Methods 2009; 344:73-8. [PMID: 19328804 PMCID: PMC2712229 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2009.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2008] [Revised: 03/12/2009] [Accepted: 03/18/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Alhydrogel (aluminum hydroxide) is a widely used adjuvant in the US. Regulatory authorities require that vaccines be tested to determine the antigen content in the final vaccine product. The level of formulated antigen is currently determined in our laboratory by the o-Phthalaldehyde (OPA) fluorescent protein assay, and antigen identity and integrity are determined by Western blot and SDS-PAGE. However, OPA assay is non-specific and only limited to detection of total protein content, and it is often not sensitive enough to detect antigens in low dose formulations. Furthermore, antigens used in identity and integrity tests must be extracted from vaccines using an extraction procedure which is time-consuming and may not completely recover antigens for analysis or may alter the structures of antigens during extraction. The present study developed a Direct Alum Formulation Immunoassay (DAFIA) which was designed to directly (without antigen extraction), accurately, and sensitively determine the antigen content, identity and integrity on alum. The AMA1-C1/Alhydrogel formulation was used as a model vaccine in assay development and validation. The results showed that the DAFIA is highly antigen-specific, accurate (87-100%), sensitive (0.16 microg/ml), reproducible, and simple with a linear detection range of 0.16-10 microg/ml. These results demonstrate that DAFIA is an excellent assay to determine antigen content, identity and integrity of antigens bound to alum and may be used in routine vaccine quality control for testing antigens in Alhydrogel-based vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daming Zhu
- Malaria Vaccine Development Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
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