Mol Pharm. 2019 Apr 9. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b01322. [Epub ahead of print]
Glucan particles are a powerful adjuvant for the HBsAg, favoring antiviral immunity.
Soares E, Groothuismink ZM, Boonstra A, Borges O.
Abstract
The lack of vaccine adjuvants that are able to induce robust T cell responses fosters the search for more powerful options. Pathogen-like particles are a promising approach. The adjuvant activity of pathogen-like particles is highly influenced by size and surface composition. This study aimed to evaluate the adjuvant potential of two different β-glucan-based particles: blend chitosan/β-glucan particles (ChiGluPs), which are positively charged and have mean size of 1276 nm, and neutral yeast-derived glucan particles (GPs) with a mean size of 3 µm. Additionally, chitosan particles (ChiPs) were used to understand the effect of β-glucan addition (ChiGluPs). Mouse spleen cells responded through the production of either TNF-α or RANTES, following in vitro stimulation with particles containing either β-glucan (ChiGluPs and GPs) or chitosan (ChiGluPs and ChiPs). Human monocytes responded to all particles through TNF-α secretion. Subcutaneous vaccination of mice with the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) showed increased serum IgG for all particles compared to HBsAg alone (435-fold, 4500-fold or 2500-fold increase for either ChiPs, ChiGluPs or GPs). Interestingly, only GPs elicited the secretion of HBsAg-specific Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22 and Treg related cytokines. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that GPs can have a significant role against the hepatitis B virus, by favoring antiviral immunity.
