Enhanced efficacy of CTLA-4 fusion anti-caries DNA vaccines in gnotobiotic hamsters

Dental caries vaccine: are we there yet?

Dental caries, caused by Streptococcus mutans, is a common infection. Caries vaccine has been under investigation for the last 40 years. Many in vitro and in vivo studies and some human clinical trials have determined many pertinent aspects regarding vaccine development. The virulence determinants of Strep. mutans, such as Ag I/II, responsible for adherence to surfaces, glucosyltransferase, responsible for the production of glucan, and the glucan-binding protein, responsible for the attachment of glucan to surfaces, have been known to elicit an antigen-specific immune response. It is also known that more than one antigen or a functional part of the genome responsible for these virulence determinants provide a better host response compared with the monogenic vaccine or complete genome of a specific antigen. To enhance the host response, the use of adjuvants has been studied and the routes of antigen administration have been investigated. In recent years, some promising vaccines such as pGJA-P/VAX, LT derivative/Pi_39-512 , KFD2-rPAc and SBR/GBR-CMV-nirB have been developed and tested in animals. New virulence targets need to be explored. Multicentre collaborative studies and human clinical trials are required and some interest from funders and public health experts should be generated to overcome this hurdle. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Dental caries is an irreversible, multifactorial opportunistic infection. The treatment is costly, making it a public health problem. Despite many years of promising laboratory research, animal studies and clinical trials, there is no commercially available vaccine today. The research objectives have become more refined from lessons learnt over the years. Multigenic DNA/recombinant vaccines, using the best proved adjuvants with a delivery system for the nasal or sublingual route, should be developed and researched with multicentre collaborative efforts. In addition, new vaccine targets can be identified. To overcome the economic hurdle, funders and public health interest should be stimulated.

Preliminary Work Towards Finding Proteins as Potential Vaccine Candidates for Vibrio cholerae Pakistani Isolates through Reverse Vaccinology

Background and Objective: Vibrio cholerae continues to emerge as a dangerous pathogen because of increasing resistance to a number of antibiotics. This paper provides a solution to emerging antibiotic resistance by introducing novel proteins as vaccine candidates against cholera. Materials and Methods: Vibrio cholerae genome versatility is a hurdle for developing a vaccine to combat diarrhoeal infection, so its core gene information was used to determine a potential vaccine candidate. Whole genome sequence data of more than 100 Vibrio cholerae strains were used simultaneously to get core genome information. The VacSol pipeline based on reverse vaccinology was selected to address the problem of safe, cheap, temperature-stable, and effective vaccine candidates which can be used for vaccine development against Vibrio cholerae. VacSol screens vaccine candidates using integrated, well-known, and robust algorithms/tools for proteome analysis. The proteomes of the pathogens were initially screened to predict homology using BLASTp. Proteomes that are non-homologous to humans are then subjected to a predictor for localization. Helicer predicts transmembrane helices for the protein. Proteins failing to comply with the set parameters were filtered at each step, and finally, 11 proteins were filtered as vaccine candidates. Results: This selected group of vaccine candidates consists of proteins from almost all structural parts of Vibrio cholerae. Their blast results show that this filtered group includes flagellin A protein, a protein from the Zn transporter system, a lipocarrier outer membrane protein, a peptidoglycan-associated protein, a DNA-binding protein, a chemotaxis protein, a tRNA Pseuriudine synthase A, and two selected proteins, which were beta lactamases. The last two uncharacterized proteins possess 100% similarity to V. albensis and Enterobacter, respectively. Tertiary structure and active site determination show a large number of pockets on each protein. Conclusions: The most interesting finding of this study is that 10 proteins out of 11 filtered proteins are introduced as novel potential vaccine candidates. These novel vaccine candidates can result in the development of cost-effective and broad-spectrum vaccines which can be used in countries where cholera is a major contributor to diarrheal disease.

Similar Epitope Specificities of IgG and IgA Antibodies Elicited by Ad26 Vector Prime, Env Protein Boost Immunizations in Rhesus Monkeys

Vaccine-elicited immunoglobulin G (IgG) has been shown to be important for protection against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection in rhesus monkeys. However, it remains unclear whether vaccine-elicited IgA responses are beneficial or detrimental for protection. In this study, we evaluated the kinetics, magnitude, breadth, and linear epitope specificities of vaccine-elicited IgG and IgA responses in serum and mucosal secretions following intramuscular immunization with adenovirus 26 (Ad26) prime, Env protein boost vaccination regimens. The systemic and mucosal antibody responses exhibited kinetics similar to those of the serum antibody responses but lower titers than the serum antibody responses. Moreover, the IgG and IgA responses were correlated, both in terms of the magnitude of the responses and in terms of the antibody specificities against linear human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Env, Gag, and Pol epitopes. These data suggest that IgG and IgA responses are highly coordinated in both peripheral blood and mucosal compartments following Ad26/Env vaccination in rhesus monkeys.IMPORTANCE Vaccine-elicited IgG responses are important for protection against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection in nonhuman primates. However, much less is known about the role and function of IgA, despite it being the predominant antibody in mucosal sites. There is debate as to whether HIV-1-specific IgA responses are beneficial or detrimental, since serum anti-Env IgA titers were shown to be inversely correlated with protection in the RV144 clinical trial. We thus assessed vaccine-elicited IgG and IgA antibody responses in peripheral blood and mucosal secretions following vaccination with the Ad26/Env vaccine.

Antitumor immunity of DNA vaccine based on CTLA-4 fused with HER2 against colon carcinoma

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) negatively regulates the T cell activation and competes with CD28 in binding with B7.1/B7.2 molecules. Fusion of the extracellular region of CTLA-4 and a specific antigen is an effective method for improving the immune efficacy of DNA vaccines. This study aimed to investigate the effects of DNA vaccine of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) fused with CTLA-4 on the development of colon carcinoma in mice and to identify the potential immune mechanisms underlying its effects. We constructed recombinant plasmids corresponding to the control group, individual antigen group, and fusion antigen group. Then, mice were intramuscularly injected with the corresponding plasmids and exposed to electrical pulses. Immunogenicity was evaluated at 2 weeks after the last immunization. Furthermore, to investigate the antitumor immune effects of the recombinant plasmid, we established a mouse model of HER2 expression in transplanted tumors. Experimental results showed that the recombinant plasmids expressing fusion antigen induced a stronger cellular immune response. Inoculation of the HER2-CTLA-4 plasmid exerted the strongest inhibitory effect on HER2 expression-mediated tumor growth in mice. These results highlight the potential of the CTLA-4 fusion DNA vaccine as a therapeutic vaccine against colon cancer based on HER2 and CTLA-4.

Construction of a fusion plasmid containing the PSCA gene and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and its anti-tumor effect in an animal model of prostate cancer

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is a negative regulator of T cell activation, which competes with CD28 for B7.1/B7.2 binding, and which has a greater affinity. Fusion of specific antigens to extracellular domain of CTLA4 represents a promising approach to increase the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. In this study, we evaluated this interesting approach for CTLA4 enhancement on prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA)-specific immune responses and its anti-tumor effects in a prostate cancer mouse model. Consequently, we constructed a DNA vaccine containing the PSCA and the CTLA-4 gene. Vaccination with the CTLA4-fused DNA not only induced a much higher level of anti-PSCA antibody, but also increased PSCA-specific T cell response in mice. To evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of the plasmids, murine models with PSCA-expressing tumors were generated. After injection of the tumor-bearing mouse model, the plasmid carrying the CTLA4 and PSCA fusion gene showed stronger inhibition of tumor growth than the plasmid expressing PSCA alone. These observations emphasize the potential of the CTLA4-fused DNA vaccine, which could represent a promising approach for tumor immunotherapy.

The effect of antigen size on the immunogenicity of antigen presenting cell targeted DNA vaccine

Directing antigens to antigen presenting cells (APCs) has been demonstrated to be an efficient strategy to enhance immune responses induced by DNA vaccination. Fusion of antigens to cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4), a ligand of B7 molecules on the surfaces of APCs with strong binding affinity, enhanced the immunogenicities of antigens in various degrees. To investigate the relationship between antigen size and the immunogenicity of CTLA4 fusion DNA vaccine, we constructed CTLA4 targeted fusion anti-caries DNA vaccines containing different size of antigens. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that CTLA4 fusion with smaller antigen induced stronger humoral immune responses and had higher affinity to B7-expressed cells than fusion with larger antigen. In conclusion, antigen size is one of the important factors regulating the potency of humoral immune response induced by CTLA4 targeted DNA vaccines.

Induction of immune tolerance in asthmatic mice by vaccination with DNA encoding an allergen-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 combination

Allergen-specific immunotherapy is a potential treatment for allergic diseases. We constructed an allergen-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4)-encoding DNA vaccine, administered it directly to antigen-presenting cells (APCs), and investigated its ability and mechanisms to ameliorate allergic airway inflammation in an asthmatic mouse model. An allergen-CTLA-4 DNA plasmid (OVA-CTLA-4-pcDNA₃.₁) encoding an ovalbumin (OVA) and the mouse CTLA-4 extracellular domain was constructed and transfected into COS-7 cells to obtain the fusion protein OVA-CTLA-4, which was able to bind the B7 ligand on dendritic cells (DCs), and induced CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells by the coculture of naive CD4⁺ T cells with DCs in vitro. In an animal study, BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA to establish the asthmatic model. Vaccination with a high dose of OVA-CTLA-4-pcDNA₃.₁ significantly decreased interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-5 levels and eosinophil counts and prevented OVA-induced reduction of the gamma interferon level in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In addition, these mice suffered less severe airway inflammation and had lower levels of OVA-specific IgE and IgG1 titers in serum. Also, high-dose OVA-CTLA-4-pcDNA₃.₁ vaccination inhibited the development of airway hyperreactivity and prevented OVA-induced reduction of the percentages of Foxp3⁺ Treg cells in the spleen. Our results indicate that a high dose of allergen-CTLA-4-encoding DNA vaccine was more effective in preventing an allergen-induced Th2-skewed immune response through the induction of Treg cells and may be a new alternative therapy for asthma.

Good Manufacturing Practices production and analysis of a DNA vaccine against dental caries

AIM

To prepare a clinical-grade anti-caries DNA vaccine pGJA-P/VAX and explore its immune effect and protective efficacy against a cariogenic bacterial challenge.

METHODS

A large-scale industrial production process was developed under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) by combining and optimizing common unit operations such as alkaline lysis, precipitation, endotoxin removal and column chromatography. Quality controls of the purified bulk and final lyophilized vaccine were conducted according to authoritative guidelines. Mice and gnotobiotic rats were intranasally immunized with clinical-grade pGJA-P/VAX with chitosan. Antibody levels of serum IgG and salivary SIgA were assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and caries activity was evaluated by the Keyes method. pGJA-P/VAX and pVAX1 prepared by a laboratory-scale commercial kit were used as controls.

RESULTS

The production process proved to be scalable and reproducible. Impurities including host protein, residual RNA, genomic DNA and endotoxin in the purified plasmid were all under the limits of set specifications. Intranasal vaccination with clinical-grade pGJA-P/VAX induced higher serum IgG and salivary SIgA in both mice and gnotobiotic rats. While in the experimental caries model, the enamel (E), dentinal slight (Ds), and dentinal moderate (Dm) caries lesions were reduced by 21.1%, 33.0%, and 40.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The production process under GMP was efficient in preparing clinical-grade pGJA-P/VAX with high purity and intended effectiveness, thus facilitating future clinical trials for the anti-caries DNA vaccine.