In Vitro Induction of Trained Innate Immunity by bIgG and Whey Protein Extracts

Bovine immunoglobulin G (bIgG) was previously shown to enhance innate immune responses to toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation, via induction of trained immunity. In this study, we investigated whether minimally processed dairy streams with high levels of whey proteins as potential infant nutrition ingredients could also induce trained immunity, and to what extent this can be explained by the presence of bIgG. The minimally processed whey ingredients serum protein concentrate (SPC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) were tested for their ability to induce trained immunity in human peripheral blood monocytes. Both ingredients induced trained immunity as evidenced by an increased production of TNF-α and, to a lesser extent, of IL-6 upon stimulation with TLR ligands. This was comparable to isolated bovine immunoglobulin G (bIgG) that served as positive control. Depletion of bIgG from both whey protein-containing ingredients did not significantly inhibit the induction of trained immunity, suggesting that the streams contain other components in addition to bIgG that are able to induce trained immunity. These results indicate that minimally processed whey ingredients may contribute to protection against infections through enhancing innate immune responsiveness to pathogens.

Assessing the Immunosafety of Engineered Nanoparticles with a Novel in Vitro Model Based on Human Primary Monocytes

The possibility that nanomaterials could perturb the normal course of an inflammatory response is a key issue when assessing nanoimmunosafety. The alteration of the normal progress of an inflammatory response may have pathological consequences, since inflammation is a major defensive mechanism and its efficiency maintains the body's health. The immunosafety of engineered nanoparticles at nontoxic concentrations was investigated with the use of a human primary monocyte-based in vitro system, which reproduces in a simplified fashion the full course of the physiological inflammatory response, from initiation and development to resolution. The kinetics of expression and production of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and the proteomic profiles were used for describing the inflammatory defensive response. We assessed the ability of gold and silver nanoparticles to trigger inflammation and to interfere with the course of an ongoing defensive reaction. While neither nanoparticle type was able to directly activate monocytes, silver nanoparticles could exacerbate the inflammatory response of monocytes but did not interfere with the resolution of the inflammatory reaction. These findings support the use of human primary monocyte-based in vitro assays for realistically investigating the effects of engineered nanoparticles on human innate immune responses, in order to predict the immunological risk of nanomaterials and implement safe nanoparticle-based applications.

Predictive markers of safety and immunogenicity of adjuvanted vaccines

Vaccination represents one of the greatest public health triumphs; in part due to the effect of adjuvants that have been included in vaccine preparations to boost the immune responses through different mechanisms. Although a variety of novel adjuvants have been under development, only a limited number have been approved by regulatory authorities for human vaccines. This report reflects the conclusions of a group of scientists from academia, regulatory agencies and industry who attended a conference on the current state of the art in the adjuvant field. Held at the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) in Rockville, Maryland, USA, from 18 to 19 April 2013 and organized by the International Association for Biologicals (IABS), the conference focused particularly on the future development of effective adjuvants and adjuvanted vaccines and on overcoming major hurdles, such as safety and immunogenicity assessment, as well as regulatory scrutiny. More information on the conference output can be found on the IABS website, http://www.iabs.org/.