TY - JOUR
T1 - Alpha-galactosylceramide (αgalcer) enhances vaccine-induced protection in a model of ricin intoxication
AU - Yates, Jennifer L.
AU - Leadbetter, Elizabeth
AU - Mantis, Nicholas J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Oreola Donini (Soligenix, Inc., Princeton, NJ) for providing us with RiVax used in this study and for her critical review of the manuscript. We also thank Dr. Jennifer Westfall (Wadsworth Center) for technical assistance with animal studies and Greta Van Slyke (Wadsworth Center) for EPICC analysis. Research reported in this manuscript was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AI125190. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Alpha-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) is a glycolipid derived from a marine sponge that is a potent activator of both mouse and human invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. For that reason, αGalCer is a promising vaccine adjuvant that has been shown to improve both humoral and cellular immunity when co-administered with various vaccines, including candidate vaccines for biodefense. In the current study, we tested the effectiveness of αGalCer as an adjuvant for the clinically-relevant ricin toxin subunit vaccine, RiVax. αGalCer had a potent adjuvant effect, as shown by a rapid onset of anti-ricin IgG titers, accelerated development of serum toxin-neutralizing activity, and enhanced protection from lethal ricin challenge in a mouse model. These results underscore the potential of αGalCer to augment the protective immune response to a vaccine designed to counteract ricin toxin, a fast-acting biothreat agent.
AB - Alpha-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) is a glycolipid derived from a marine sponge that is a potent activator of both mouse and human invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. For that reason, αGalCer is a promising vaccine adjuvant that has been shown to improve both humoral and cellular immunity when co-administered with various vaccines, including candidate vaccines for biodefense. In the current study, we tested the effectiveness of αGalCer as an adjuvant for the clinically-relevant ricin toxin subunit vaccine, RiVax. αGalCer had a potent adjuvant effect, as shown by a rapid onset of anti-ricin IgG titers, accelerated development of serum toxin-neutralizing activity, and enhanced protection from lethal ricin challenge in a mouse model. These results underscore the potential of αGalCer to augment the protective immune response to a vaccine designed to counteract ricin toxin, a fast-acting biothreat agent.
KW - B cell epitope
KW - Biodefense
KW - Monoclonal antibodies
KW - Toxin
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U2 - 10.1080/21645515.2018.1461299
DO - 10.1080/21645515.2018.1461299
M3 - Article
C2 - 29617191
AN - SCOPUS:85059797218
SN - 2164-5515
VL - 14
SP - 2053
EP - 2057
JO - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
JF - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
IS - 8
ER -