Induction of systemic and mucosal immunity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection by a novel nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine

• Main Authors: Sun HW, Wei C, Liu BS, Jing HM, Feng Q, Tong YN, Yang Y, Yang LY, Zuo QF, Zhang Y, Zou QM, Zeng H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2015-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Nanomedicine
• Subjects: Nanoemulsion; Adjuvant; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Systemic immune; Mucosal immune.
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/induction-of-systemic-and-mucosal-immunity-against-methicillin-resista-peer-reviewed-article-IJN

HongWu Sun,1,* Chao Wei,1,* BaoShuai Liu,1 HaiMing Jing,1 Qiang Feng,2 YaNan Tong,1 Yun Yang,1 LiuYang Yang,1 QianFei Zuo,1 Yi Zhang,1 QuanMing Zou,1 Hao Zeng1 1National Engineering Research Center of Immunological Products, Department of Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Third Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, 2Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The Gram-positive bacterial pathogen methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can cause infections in the bloodstream, endocardial tissue, respiratory tract, culture-confirmed skin, or soft tissue. There are currently no effective vaccines, and none are expected to become available in the near future. An effective vaccine capable of eliciting both systemic and mucosal immune responses is also urgently needed. Here, we reported a novel oil-in-water nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine containing an MRSA recombination protein antigen, Cremophor EL-35® as a surfactant, and propylene glycol as a co-surfactant. This nanoemulsion vaccine, whose average diameter was 31.34±0.49 nm, demonstrated good protein structure integrity, protein specificity, and good stability at room temperature for 1 year. The intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune responses demonstrated that this nanoemulsion vaccine could improve the specific immune responses of immunoglobulin (Ig)G and related subclasses, such as IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b, as well as IgA, in the serum after Balb/c mice intramuscular immunization and C57 mice nasal immunization. Furthermore, this nanoemulsion vaccine also markedly enhanced the interferon-γ and interleukin-17A cytokine cell immune response, improved the survival ratio, and reduced bacterial colonization. Taken together, our results show that this novel nanoemulsion vaccine has great potential and is a robust generator of an effective intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune response without the need for an additional adjuvant. Thus, the present study serves as a sound scientific foundation for future strategies in the development of this novel nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine to enhance both the intramuscular systemic and nasal mucosal immune responses. Keywords: nanotechnology, adjuvant, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, recombination protein, immune responses