Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is rapidly spreading across the globe, and millions are infected. Morbidity due to this virus is a serious threat to public health, but at present, there is no vaccine against this debilitating disease. We have recently developed a number of vaccine candidates, and here we have evaluated 3 of them in a nonhuman primate model. A single immunization with an attenuated strain of CHIKV (Δ5nsP3), a homologous prime-boost immunization with a DNA-launched RNA replicon encoding CHIKV envelope proteins (DREP-E), and a DREP-E prime followed by a recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara encoding CHIKV capsid and envelope (MVA-CE) boost all induced protection against WT CHIKV infection. The attenuated Δ5nsP3 virus proved to be safe and did not show any clinical signs typically associated with WT CHIKV infections such as fever, skin rash, lymphopenia, or joint swelling. These vaccines are based on an East/Central/South African strain of Indian Ocean lineage, but they also generated neutralizing antibodies against an isolate of the Asian genotype that now is rapidly spreading across the Americas. These results form the basis for clinical development of an efficacious CHIKV vaccine that generates both humoral and cellular immunity with long-term immunological memory.
Pierre Roques, Karl Ljungberg, Beate M. Kümmerer, Leslie Gosse, Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet, Nicolas Tchitchek, David Hallengärd, Juan García-Arriaza, Andreas Meinke, Mariano Esteban, Andres Merits, Roger Le Grand, Peter Liljeström
Infection is the most common cause of mortality in early life, and immunization is the most promising biomedical intervention to reduce this burden. However, newborns fail to respond optimally to most vaccines. Adjuvantation is a key approach to enhancing vaccine immunogenicity, but responses of human newborn leukocytes to most candidate adjuvants, including most TLR agonists, are functionally distinct. Herein, we demonstrate that 3M-052 is a locally acting lipidated imidazoquinoline TLR7/8 agonist adjuvant in mice, which, when properly formulated, can induce robust Th1 cytokine production by human newborn leukocytes in vitro, both alone and in synergy with the alum-adjuvanted pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 13 (PCV13). When admixed with PCV13 and administered i.m. on the first day of life to rhesus macaques, 3M-052 dramatically enhanced generation of Th1 CRM-197–specific neonatal CD4+ cells, activation of newborn and infant
David J. Dowling, Simon D. van Haren, Annette Scheid, Ilana Bergelson, Dhohyung Kim, Christy J. Mancuso, Willemina Foppen, Al Ozonoff, Lynn Fresh, Terese B. Theriot, Andrew A. Lackner, Raina N. Fichorova, Dmitri Smirnov, John P. Vasilakos, Joe M. Beaurline, Mark A. Tomai, Cecily C. Midkiff, Xavier Alvarez, James L. Blanchard, Margaret H. Gilbert, Pyone Pyone Aye, Ofer Levy
Judith E. Epstein, Kristopher M. Paolino, Thomas L. Richie, Martha Sedegah, Alexandra Singer, Adam J. Ruben, Sumana Chakravarty, April Stafford, Richard C. Ruck, Abraham G. Eappen, Tao Li, Peter F. Billingsley, Anita Manoj, Joana C. Silva, Kara Moser, Robin Nielsen, Donna Tosh, Susan Cicatelli, Harini Ganeshan, Jessica Case, Debbie Padilla, Silas Davidson, Lindsey Garver, Elizabeth Saverino, Tooba Murshedkar, Anusha Gunasekera, Patrick S. Twomey, Sharina Reyes, James E. Moon, Eric R. James, Natasha KC, Minglin Li, Esteban Abot, Arnel Belmonte, Kevin Hauns, Maria Belmonte, Jun Huang, Carlos Vasquez, Shon Remich, Mary Carrington, Yonas Abebe, Amy Tillman, Bradley Hickey, Jason Regules, Eileen Villasante, B. Kim Lee Sim, Stephen L. Hoffman
The ALVAC prime/ALVAC + AIDSVAX B/E boost RV144 vaccine trial induced an estimated 31% efficacy in a low-risk cohort where HIV‑1 exposures were likely at mucosal surfaces. An immune correlates study demonstrated that antibodies targeting the V2 region and in a secondary analysis antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), in the presence of low envelope-specific (Env-specific) IgA, correlated with decreased risk of infection. Thus, understanding the B cell repertoires induced by this vaccine in systemic and mucosal compartments are key to understanding the potential protective mechanisms of this vaccine regimen. We immunized rhesus macaques with the ALVAC/AIDSVAX B/E gp120 vaccine regimen given in RV144, and then gave a boost 6 months later, after which the animals were necropsied. We isolated systemic and intestinal vaccine Env-specific memory B cells. Whereas Env-specific B cell clonal lineages were shared between spleen, draining inguinal, anterior pelvic, posterior pelvic, and periaortic lymph nodes, members of Env‑specific B cell clonal lineages were absent in the terminal ileum. Env‑specific antibodies were detectable in rectal fluids, suggesting that IgG antibodies present at mucosal sites were likely systemically produced and transported to intestinal mucosal sites.
Kan Luo, Hua-Xin Liao, Ruijun Zhang, David Easterhoff, Kevin Wiehe, Thaddeus C. Gurley, Lawrence C. Armand, Ashley A. Allen, Tarra A. Von Holle, Dawn J. Marshall, John F. Whitesides, Jamie Pritchett, Andrew Foulger, Giovanna Hernandez, Robert Parks, Krissey E. Lloyd, Christina Stolarchuk, Sheetal Sawant, Jessica Peel, Nicole L. Yates, Erika Dunford, Sabrina Arora, Amy Wang, Cindy M. Bowman, Laura L. Sutherland, Richard M. Scearce, Shi-Mao Xia, Mattia Bonsignori, Justin Pollara, R. Whitney Edwards, Sampa Santra, Norman L. Letvin, James Tartaglia, Donald Francis, Faruk Sinangil, Carter Lee, Jaranit Kaewkungwal, Sorachai Nitayaphan, Punnee Pitisuttithum, Supachai Rerks-ngarm, Nelson L. Michael, Jerome H. Kim, S. Munir Alam, Nathan A. Vandergrift, Guido Ferrari, David C. Montefiori, Georgia D. Tomaras, Barton F. Haynes, M. Anthony Moody
We created and tested multi-epitope DNA or protein vaccines with TLR4 ligand emulsion adjuvant (gluco glucopyranosyl lipid adjuvant in a stable emulsion [GLA-SE]) for their ability to protect against
Kamal El Bissati, Aziz A. Chentoufi, Paulette A. Krishack, Ying Zhou, Stuart Woods, Jitender P. Dubey, Lo Vang, Joseph Lykins, Kate E. Broderick, Ernest Mui, Yasuhiro Suzuki, Qila Sa, Stephanie Bi, Nestor Cardona, Shiv K. Verma, Laura Frazeck, Catherine A. Reardon, John Sidney, Jeff Alexander, Alessandro Sette, Tom Vedvick, Chris Fox, Jeffrey A. Guderian, Steven Reed, Craig W. Roberts, Rima McLeod
Meningococcal factor H-binding protein (FHbp) is an antigen in 2 serogroup B meningococcal vaccines. FHbp specifically binds human and some nonhuman primate complement FH. To investigate the effect of binding of FH to FHbp on protective antibody responses, we immunized infant rhesus macaques with either a control recombinant FHbp antigen that bound macaque FH or a mutant antigen with 2 amino acid substitutions and >250-fold lower affinity for FH. The mutant antigen elicited 3-fold higher serum IgG anti-FHbp titers and up to 15-fold higher serum bactericidal titers than the control FHbp vaccine. When comparing sera with similar IgG anti-FHbp titers, the antibodies elicited by the mutant antigen gave greater deposition of complement component C4b on live meningococci (classical complement pathway) and inhibited binding of FH, while the anti-FHbp antibodies elicited by the control vaccine enhanced FH binding. Thus, the mutant FHbp vaccine elicited an anti-FHbp antibody repertoire directed at FHbp epitopes within the FH binding site, which resulted in greater protective activity than the antibodies elicited by the control vaccine, which targeted FHbp epitopes outside of the FH combining site. Binding of a host protein to a vaccine antigen impairs protective antibody responses, which can be overcome with low-binding mutant antigens.
Dan M. Granoff, Serena Giuntini, Flor A. Gowans, Eduardo Lujan, Kelsey Sharkey, Peter T. Beernink
A single-cycle herpes simplex virus (HSV) deleted in glycoprotein D (ΔgD-2) elicited high titer HSV-specific antibodies (Abs) that (i) were rapidly transported into the vaginal mucosa; (ii) elicited antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity but little neutralization; (iii) provided complete protection against lethal intravaginal challenge; and (iv) prevented establishment of latency in mice. However, clinical isolates may differ antigenically and impact vaccine efficacy. To determine the breadth and further define mechanisms of protection of this vaccine candidate, we tested ΔgD-2 against a panel of clinical isolates in a murine skin challenge model. The isolates were genetically diverse, as evidenced by genomic sequencing and in vivo virulence. Prime and boost immunization (s.c.) with live but not heat- or UV-inactivated ΔgD-2 completely protected mice from challenge with the most virulent HSV-1 and HSV-2 isolates. Furthermore, mice were completely protected against 100 times the lethal dose that typically kills 90% of animals (LD90) of a South African isolate (SD90), and no latent virus was detected in dorsal root ganglia. Immunization was associated with rapid recruitment of HSV-specific FcγRIII- and FcγRIV-activating IgG2 Abs into the skin, resolution of local cytokine and cellular inflammatory responses, and viral clearance by day 5 after challenge. Rapid clearance and the absence of latent virus suggest that ΔgD-2 elicits sterilizing immunity.
Christopher D. Petro, Brian Weinrick, Nazanin Khajoueinejad, Clare Burn, Rani Sellers, William R. Jacobs Jr, Betsy C. Herold
Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) are a recently defined, noncirculating subset with the potential for rapid in situ protective responses, although their generation and role in vaccine-mediated immune responses is unclear. Here, we assessed TRM generation and lung-localized protection following administration of currently licensed influenza vaccines, including injectable inactivated influenza virus (IIV, Fluzone) and i.n. administered live-attenuated influenza virus (LAIV, FluMist) vaccines. We found that, while IIV preferentially induced strain-specific neutralizing antibodies, LAIV generated lung-localized, virus-specific T cell responses. Moreover, LAIV but not IIV generated lung CD4+ TRM and virus-specific CD8+ TRM, similar in phenotype to those generated by influenza virus infection. Importantly, these vaccine-generated TRM mediated cross-strain protection, independent of circulating T cells and neutralizing antibodies, which persisted long-term after vaccination. Interestingly, intranasal administration of IIV or injection of LAIV failed to elicit T cell responses or provide protection against viral infection, demonstrating dual requirements for respiratory targeting and a live-attenuated strain to establish TRM. The ability of LAIV to generate lung TRM capable of providing long-term protection against nonvaccine viral strains, as demonstrated here, has important implications for protecting the population against emergent influenza pandemics by direct fortification of lung-specific immunity.
Kyra D. Zens, Jun Kui Chen, Donna L. Farber
DC-based vaccines that initiate T cell responses are well tolerated and have demonstrated efficacy for tumor immunotherapy, with the potential to be combined with other therapies. Targeting vaccine antigens (Ag) directly to the DCs in vivo is more effective than cell-based therapies in mouse models and is therefore a promising strategy to translate to humans. The human CD141+ DCs are considered the most clinically relevant for initiating CD8+ T cell responses critical for killing tumors or infected cells, and they specifically express the C-type lectin-like receptor CLEC9A that facilitates presentation of Ag by these DCs. We have therefore developed a human chimeric Ab that specifically targets CLEC9A on CD141+ DCs in vitro and in vivo. These human chimeric Abs are highly effective at delivering Ag to DCs for recognition by both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Given the importance of these cellular responses for antitumor or antiviral immunity, and the superior specificity of anti-CLEC9A Abs for this DC subset, this approach warrants further development for vaccines.
Kirsteen M. Tullett, Ingrid M. Leal Rojas, Yoshihito Minoda, Peck S. Tan, Jian-Guo Zhang, Corey Smith, Rajiv Khanna, Ken Shortman, Irina Caminschi, Mireille H. Lahoud, Kristen J. Radford
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