Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.

Vaccines that can rapidly induce strong and robust antibody-mediated immunity could improve protection from certain infectious diseases for which current vaccine formulations are inefficient. For indications such as anthrax and influenza, antibody production in vivo is a correlate of efficacy. Toll-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Genevieve M Weir, Mohan Karkada, David Hoskin, Marianne M Stanford, Lisa MacDonald, Marc Mansour, Robert S Liwski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180073&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850230243466412032
author Genevieve M Weir
Mohan Karkada
David Hoskin
Marianne M Stanford
Lisa MacDonald
Marc Mansour
Robert S Liwski
author_facet Genevieve M Weir
Mohan Karkada
David Hoskin
Marianne M Stanford
Lisa MacDonald
Marc Mansour
Robert S Liwski
author_sort Genevieve M Weir
collection DOAJ
description Vaccines that can rapidly induce strong and robust antibody-mediated immunity could improve protection from certain infectious diseases for which current vaccine formulations are inefficient. For indications such as anthrax and influenza, antibody production in vivo is a correlate of efficacy. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists are frequently studied for their role as vaccine adjuvants, largely because of their ability to enhance initiation of immune responses to antigens by activating dendritic cells. However, TLRs are also expressed on B cells and may contribute to effective B cell activation and promote differentiation into antigen-specific antibody producing plasma cells in vivo. We sought to discover an adjuvant system that could be used to augment antibody responses to influenza and anthrax vaccines. We first characterized an adjuvant system in vitro which consisted of two TLR ligands, poly I:C (TLR3) and Pam3CSK4 (TLR2), by evaluating its effects on B cell activation. Each agonist enhanced B cell activation through increased expression of surface receptors, cytokine secretion and proliferation. However, when B cells were stimulated with poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 in combination, further enhancement to cell activation was observed. Using B cells isolated from knockout mice we confirmed that poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 were signaling through TLR3 and TLR2, respectively. B cells activated with Poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 displayed enhanced capacity to stimulate allogeneic CD4+ T cell activation and differentiate into antibody-producing plasma cells in vitro. Mice vaccinated with influenza or anthrax antigens formulated with poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 in DepoVax™ vaccine platform developed a rapid and strong antigen-specific serum antibody titer that persisted for at least 12 weeks after a single immunization. These results demonstrate that combinations of TLR adjuvants promote more effective B cell activation in vitro and can be used to augment antibody responses to vaccines in vivo.
format Article
id doaj-art-a2ebab1b22ae44378e1afb291c4f0753
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-a2ebab1b22ae44378e1afb291c4f07532025-08-20T02:03:55ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01126e018007310.1371/journal.pone.0180073Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.Genevieve M WeirMohan KarkadaDavid HoskinMarianne M StanfordLisa MacDonaldMarc MansourRobert S LiwskiVaccines that can rapidly induce strong and robust antibody-mediated immunity could improve protection from certain infectious diseases for which current vaccine formulations are inefficient. For indications such as anthrax and influenza, antibody production in vivo is a correlate of efficacy. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists are frequently studied for their role as vaccine adjuvants, largely because of their ability to enhance initiation of immune responses to antigens by activating dendritic cells. However, TLRs are also expressed on B cells and may contribute to effective B cell activation and promote differentiation into antigen-specific antibody producing plasma cells in vivo. We sought to discover an adjuvant system that could be used to augment antibody responses to influenza and anthrax vaccines. We first characterized an adjuvant system in vitro which consisted of two TLR ligands, poly I:C (TLR3) and Pam3CSK4 (TLR2), by evaluating its effects on B cell activation. Each agonist enhanced B cell activation through increased expression of surface receptors, cytokine secretion and proliferation. However, when B cells were stimulated with poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 in combination, further enhancement to cell activation was observed. Using B cells isolated from knockout mice we confirmed that poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 were signaling through TLR3 and TLR2, respectively. B cells activated with Poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 displayed enhanced capacity to stimulate allogeneic CD4+ T cell activation and differentiate into antibody-producing plasma cells in vitro. Mice vaccinated with influenza or anthrax antigens formulated with poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 in DepoVax™ vaccine platform developed a rapid and strong antigen-specific serum antibody titer that persisted for at least 12 weeks after a single immunization. These results demonstrate that combinations of TLR adjuvants promote more effective B cell activation in vitro and can be used to augment antibody responses to vaccines in vivo.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180073&type=printable
spellingShingle Genevieve M Weir
Mohan Karkada
David Hoskin
Marianne M Stanford
Lisa MacDonald
Marc Mansour
Robert S Liwski
Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
PLoS ONE
title Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
title_full Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
title_fullStr Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
title_full_unstemmed Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
title_short Combination of poly I:C and Pam3CSK4 enhances activation of B cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo.
title_sort combination of poly i c and pam3csk4 enhances activation of b cells in vitro and boosts antibody responses to protein vaccines in vivo
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180073&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT genevievemweir combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT mohankarkada combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT davidhoskin combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT mariannemstanford combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT lisamacdonald combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT marcmansour combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo
AT robertsliwski combinationofpolyicandpam3csk4enhancesactivationofbcellsinvitroandboostsantibodyresponsestoproteinvaccinesinvivo