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Johnson-Weaver BT. Preclinical evaluation of alternatives to oral immunotherapy for food allergies. Front Allergy 2023; 4:1275373. [PMID: 37859977 PMCID: PMC10584324 DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2023.1275373] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing food allergy incidence has led to significant interest in developing therapies for allergic diseases. Oral allergen-specific immunotherapy (OIT) is a recently FDA-approved therapeutic to treat peanut allergies. OIT utilizes daily allergen dosing to reduce allergic reactions to peanuts. However, there is diminished enthusiasm for daily OIT, potentially due to the strict regimen required to induce desensitization and the risks of severe adverse events. Thus, there remains a need for safe and effective food allergy treatments that are well-received by allergic individuals. Preclinical research studies investigate methods to induce allergen desensitization in animals and support clinical studies that address the limitations of current food allergy OIT. Because allergic reactions are triggered by allergen doses above an individual's activation threshold, immunotherapy regimens that induce allergen desensitization with lower allergen doses or without the requirement of daily administrations may expand the use of food allergy immunotherapy. Administering allergen immunotherapy by alternative routes is a strategy to induce desensitization using lower allergen doses than OIT. Several animal models have evaluated oral, sublingual, epicutaneous, and intranasal immunotherapy routes to treat food allergies. Each immunotherapy route may require different allergen doses, formulations, and treatment schedules to induce desensitization. This article will discuss scientific findings from food allergy immunotherapy animal studies that utilize various immunotherapy routes to induce allergen desensitization to support future clinical studies that enhance the safety and efficacy of allergen immunotherapy to treat food allergies.
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Hendy DA, Johnson-Weaver BT, Batty CJ, Bachelder EM, Abraham SN, Staats HF, Ainslie KM. Delivery of small molecule mast cell activators for West Nile Virus vaccination using acetalated dextran microparticles. Int J Pharm 2023; 634:122658. [PMID: 36731641 PMCID: PMC9975031 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.122658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Recently, there has been increasing interest in the activation of mast cells to promote vaccine efficacy. Several mast cell activating (MCA) compounds have been reported such as M7 and Compound 48/80 (C48/80). While these MCAs have been proven to be efficacious vaccine adjuvants, their translatability is limited by batch-to-batch variability, challenging large-scale manufacturing, and poor in vivo stability for the M7 peptide. Due to this, high throughput screening was performed to identify small molecule MCAs. Several potent MCAs were identified via this screening, but the in vivo translatability of the compounds was limited due to their poor aqueous solubility. To enhance the delivery of these MCAs we encapsulated them in acetalated dextran (Ace-DEX) microparticles (MPs). We have previously utilized Ace-DEX MPs for vaccine delivery due to their passive targeting to phagocytic cells, acid sensitivity, and tunable degradation. Four different MCA loaded MPs were combined with West Nile Virus Envelope III protein (EDIII) and their vaccine adjuvant activities were compared in vivo. MPs containing the small molecule MCA ST101036 produced the highest anti-EDIII IgG titers of all the MCAs tested. Further, ST101036 MPs produced higher titers than ST101036 formulated with PEG as a cosolvent which highlights the benefit of Ace-DEX MPs over a conventional formulation technique. Finally, in a mouse model of West Nile Virus infection ST101036 MPs produced similar survival to soluble M7 (80-90%). Overall, these data show that ST101036 MPs produce a robust antibody response against EDIII and survival emphasizing the benefits of using Ace-DEX as a delivery platform for the poorly soluble ST101036.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan A Hendy
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | | | - Cole J Batty
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Eric M Bachelder
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | | | - Herman F Staats
- Department of Pathology, Duke University, USA; Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kristy M Ainslie
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UNC School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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Johnson-Weaver BT, Choi HW, Yang H, Granek JA, Chan C, Abraham SN, Staats HF. Nasal Immunization With Small Molecule Mast Cell Activators Enhance Immunity to Co-Administered Subunit Immunogens. Front Immunol 2021; 12:730346. [PMID: 34566991 PMCID: PMC8461742 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.730346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Mast cell activators are a novel class of mucosal vaccine adjuvants. The polymeric compound, Compound 48/80 (C48/80), and cationic peptide, Mastoparan 7 (M7) are mast cell activators that provide adjuvant activity when administered by the nasal route. However, small molecule mast cell activators may be a more cost-efficient adjuvant alternative that is easily synthesized with high purity compared to M7 or C48/80. To identify novel mast cell activating compounds that could be evaluated for mucosal vaccine adjuvant activity, we employed high-throughput screening to assess over 55,000 small molecules for mast cell degranulation activity. Fifteen mast cell activating compounds were down-selected to five compounds based on in vitro immune activation activities including cytokine production and cellular cytotoxicity, synthesis feasibility, and selection for functional diversity. These small molecule mast cell activators were evaluated for in vivo adjuvant activity and induction of protective immunity against West Nile Virus infection in BALB/c mice when combined with West Nile Virus envelope domain III (EDIII) protein in a nasal vaccine. We found that three of the five mast cell activators, ST101036, ST048871, and R529877, evoked high levels of EDIII-specific antibody and conferred comparable levels of protection against WNV challenge. The level of protection provided by these small molecule mast cell activators was comparable to the protection evoked by M7 (67%) but markedly higher than the levels seen with mice immunized with EDIII alone (no adjuvant 33%). Thus, novel small molecule mast cell activators identified by high throughput screening are as efficacious as previously described mast cell activators when used as nasal vaccine adjuvants and represent next-generation mast cell activators for evaluation in mucosal vaccine studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hae Woong Choi
- Pathology Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Hang Yang
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Josh A. Granek
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Cliburn Chan
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Soman N. Abraham
- Pathology Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Herman F. Staats
- Pathology Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
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4
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Johnson-Weaver BT, Choi H, Chan C, Shterev I, Abraham S, Staats HF. Nasal immunization with mast cell activating small molecules protects mice against West Nile Virus infection. The Journal of Immunology 2021. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.206.supp.59.01] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Objective:
Mast cell activators are a novel class of mucosal vaccine adjuvants. The polymeric compound, Compound 48/80 (C48/80), and cationic peptide, Mastoparan 7 (M7) are mast cell activators that provide adjuvant activity when administered by the nasal route. However, mast cell activating small molecules may be an adjuvant alternative that is easily synthesized with high purity compared to M7 or C48/80. The study objective is to identify small molecule mast cell activators that provide adjuvant activity in nasal West Nile virus vaccines.
Methods:
High-throughput screening assessed over 55,000 small molecules for mast cell degranulation activity. Fifteen hit compounds were down-selected to three by in vitro evaluation of immune activation activities, including cytokine production and cytotoxicity, and selection for functional diversity. These three molecules, ST101036, ST048871, and R529877, were then examined for their ability to evoke protection against West Nile virus infections in BALB/c mice when administered nasally with West Nile virus envelope domain III (EDIII) protein.
Results:
All three adjuvants evoked high levels of EDIII-specific antibody and conferred similar levels of protection, ST101036 (67%), ST048871 (73%) and R529877 (75%), which was also comparable to the protection induced by M7 (67%) but markedly higher than the levels seen with mice immunized with EDIII alone (no adjuvant 33%).
Conclusion:
Novel small molecule mast cell activators are as efficacious as previously described mast cell activating peptides and serve as potential replacements in in vivo studies.
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Smeekens JM, Johnson-Weaver BT, Hinton AL, Azcarate-Peril MA, Moran TP, Immormino RM, Kesselring JR, Steinbach EC, Orgel KA, Staats HF, Burks AW, Mucha PJ, Ferris MT, Kulis MD. Fecal IgA, Antigen Absorption, and Gut Microbiome Composition Are Associated With Food Antigen Sensitization in Genetically Susceptible Mice. Front Immunol 2021; 11:599637. [PMID: 33542716 PMCID: PMC7850988 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.599637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Food allergy is a potentially fatal disease affecting 8% of children and has become increasingly common in the past two decades. Despite the prevalence and severe nature of the disease, the mechanisms underlying sensitization remain to be further elucidated. The Collaborative Cross is a genetically diverse panel of inbred mice that were specifically developed to study the influence of genetics on complex diseases. Using this panel of mouse strains, we previously demonstrated CC027/GeniUnc mice, but not C3H/HeJ mice, develop peanut allergy after oral exposure to peanut in the absence of a Th2-skewing adjuvant. Here, we investigated factors associated with sensitization in CC027/GeniUnc mice following oral exposure to peanut, walnut, milk, or egg. CC027/GeniUnc mice mounted antigen-specific IgE responses to peanut, walnut and egg, but not milk, while C3H/HeJ mice were not sensitized to any antigen. Naïve CC027/GeniUnc mice had markedly lower total fecal IgA compared to C3H/HeJ, which was accompanied by stark differences in gut microbiome composition. Sensitized CC027/GeniUnc mice had significantly fewer CD3+ T cells but higher numbers of CXCR5+ B cells and T follicular helper cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes compared to C3H/HeJ mice, which is consistent with their relative immunoglobulin production. After oral challenge to the corresponding food, peanut- and walnut-sensitized CC027/GeniUnc mice experienced anaphylaxis, whereas mice exposed to milk and egg did not. Ara h 2 was detected in serum collected post-challenge from peanut-sensitized mice, indicating increased absorption of this allergen, while Bos d 5 and Gal d 2 were not detected in mice exposed to milk and egg, respectively. Machine learning on the change in gut microbiome composition as a result of food protein exposure identified a unique signature in CC027/GeniUnc mice that experienced anaphylaxis, including the depletion of Akkermansia. Overall, these results demonstrate several factors associated with enteral sensitization in CC027/GeniUnc mice, including diminished total fecal IgA, increased allergen absorption and altered gut microbiome composition. Furthermore, peanuts and tree nuts may have inherent properties distinct from milk and eggs that contribute to allergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna M. Smeekens
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | | | - Andrew L. Hinton
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Microbiome Core, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Timothy P. Moran
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Robert M. Immormino
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Janelle R. Kesselring
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Erin C. Steinbach
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Kelly A. Orgel
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Herman F. Staats
- Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - A. Wesley Burks
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Peter J. Mucha
- Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Mathematics and Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Martin T. Ferris
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Michael D. Kulis
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- UNC Food Allergy Initiative, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Choi HW, Chan C, Shterev ID, Lynch HE, Robinette TJ, Johnson-Weaver BT, Shi J, Sempowski GD, Kim SY, Dickson JK, Gooden DM, Abraham SN, Staats HF. Identification of Novel Mast Cell Activators Using Cell-Based High-Throughput Screening. SLAS Discov 2019; 24:628-640. [PMID: 30917061 DOI: 10.1177/2472555219834699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mast cells (MCs) are known to regulate innate and adaptive immunity. MC activators have recently been described as safe and effective vaccine adjuvants. Many currently known MC activators are inadequate for in vivo applications, however, and research on identifying novel MC activators is limited. In this study, we identified novel MC activators by using high-throughput screening (HTS) assays using approximately 55,000 small molecules. Data sets obtained by the primary HTS assays were statistically evaluated using quality control rules and the B-score calculation, and compounds with B-scores of >3.0 were chosen as mast cell activators (hits). These hits were re-evaluated with secondary and tertiary HTS assays, followed by further statistical analysis. From these hits, we selected 15 compounds that caused degranulation in murine and human MCs, with potential for flexible chemical modification for further study. Among these 15 compounds, ST101036, ST029248, and ST026567 exhibited higher degranulation potency than other hit compounds in both human and mouse MCs. In addition, the 15 compounds identified promote de novo synthesis of cytokines and induce the release of eicosanoids from human and mouse MCs. HTS enabled us to identify small-molecule MC activators with unique properties that may be useful as vaccine adjuvants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hae Woong Choi
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Cliburn Chan
- 2 Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ivo D Shterev
- 3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Heather E Lynch
- 3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Taylor J Robinette
- 5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Jianling Shi
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - So Young Kim
- 6 Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - David M Gooden
- 8 Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Soman N Abraham
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,9 Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.,10 Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.,11 Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Herman F Staats
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,10 Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
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Abstract
Food allergies are a growing public health concern with an estimated 8% of US children affected. Peanut allergies are also on the rise and often do not spontaneously resolve, leaving individuals at-risk for potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis throughout their lifetime. Currently, two forms of peanut immunotherapy, oral immunotherapy (OIT) and epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT), are in Phase III clinical trials and have shown promise to induce desensitization in many subjects. However, there are several limitations with OIT and EPIT, such as allergic side effects, daily dosing requirements, and the infrequent outcome of long-term tolerance. Next-generation therapies for peanut allergy should aim to overcome these limitations, which may be achievable with adjuvanted immunotherapy. An adjuvant can be defined as anything that enhances, accelerates, or modifies an immune response to a particular antigen. Adjuvants may allow for lower doses of antigen to be given leading to decreased side effects; may only need to be administered every few weeks or months rather than daily exposures; and may induce a long-lasting protective effect. In this review article, we highlight examples of adjuvants and formulations that have shown pre-clinical efficacy in treating peanut allergy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Herman F Staats
- Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States.,Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States.,Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - A Wesley Burks
- Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.,University of North Carolina Food Allergy Initiative, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Michael D Kulis
- Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.,University of North Carolina Food Allergy Initiative, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Roggelin L, Vinnemeier CD, Fischer-Herr J, Johnson-Weaver BT, Rolling T, Burchard GD, Staats HF, Cramer JP. Serological response following re-vaccination with Salmonella typhi Vi-capsular polysaccharide vaccines in healthy adult travellers. Vaccine 2015; 33:4141-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.05.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Revised: 05/26/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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