Improving the Th1 cellular efficacy of the lead Yersinia pestis rF1-V subunit vaccine using SA-4-1BBL as a novel adjuvant

The lead candidate plague subunit vaccine is the recombinant fusion protein rF1-V adjuvanted with alum. While alum generates Th-2 regulated robust humoral responses, immune protection against Yersinia pestis has been shown to also involve Th-1 driven cellular responses. Therefore, the rF1-V-based subunit vaccine may benefit from an adjuvant system that generates a mixed Th-1 and humoral immune response. We herein assessed the efficacy of a novel SA-4-1BBL costimulatory molecule as a Th-1 adjuvant to improve cellular responses generated by the rF1-V vaccine. SA-4-1BBL as a single adjuvant had better efficacy than alum in generating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells producing TNF alpha and IFN gamma, signature cytokines for Th-1 responses. The combination of SA-4-1 BBL with alum further increased this Th-1 response as compared with the individual adjuvants. Analysis of the humoral response revealed that SA-4-1 BBL as a single adjuvant did not generate a significant Ab response against rF1-V, and SA-4-1BBL in combination with alum did not improve Ab titers. However, the combined adjuvants significantly increased the ratio of Th-1 regulated IgG(2c) in C57BL/6 mice to the Th2 regulated IgG(1). Finally, a single vaccination with rF1-V adjuvanted with SA-4-1BBL + alum had better protective efficacy than vaccines containing individual adjuvants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SA-4-1BBL improves the protective efficacy of the alum adjuvanted lead rF1-V subunit vaccine by generating a more balanced Th-1 cellular and humoral immune response. As such, this adjuvant platform may prove efficacious not only for the rF1-V vaccine but also against other infections that require both cellular and humoral immune responses for protection. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.