Vaxfectin enhances antigen specific antibody titers and maintains Th1 type immune responses to plasmid DNA

L Reyes1, J Hartikka, V Bozoukova

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Vical Incorporated, 9373 Towne Centre Dr., Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.

Vaccine
|June 8, 2001
PubMed

Antigen specific immune responses were characterized after intramuscular immunization of BALB/c mice with 5 antigen encoding plasmid DNAs (pDNAs) complexed with Vaxfectin, a cationic lipid formulation. Vaxfectin increased IgG titers for all of the antigens with no effect on the CTL responses to the 2 antigens for which CTL assays were performed. Both antigen specific IgG1 and IgG2a were increased, although IgG2a remained greater than IgG1. Furthermore, Vaxfectin had no effect on IFN-gamma or IL-4 production by splenocytes re-stimulated with antigen, suggesting that the Th1 type responses typical of intramuscular pDNA immunization were not altered. Studies with IL-6 -/- mice suggest that the antibody enhancement is IL-6 dependent and results in a correlative increase in antigen specific antibody secreting cells.

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