Carbohydrate-based particles: a new adjuvant for allergen-specific immunotherapy

The occurrence of systemic anaphylactic side-effects in the course of allergen-specific immunotherapy has been strongly reduced by the adsorption of allergens to aluminium hydroxide, the most frequently used adjuvant in humans. Using the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p 5b, in its recombinant form for immunization of mice, we demonstrate that carbohydrate-based particles (CBP) exhibit several potential advantages over aluminium-hydroxide as adjuvant for immunotherapy. Similar to alum-bound rPhl p 5b, CBP-bound rPhl p 5b induced a stronger antibody and cytokine response than unbound rPhl p 5b after subcutaneous injection in mice. The antibodies induced by CBP-bound rPhl p 5b, exhibited potentially beneficial activities as they cross-reacted with group 5 allergens from five other grass species and inhibited the binding of grass pollen allergic patients IgE to Phl p 5b. Alum-bound rPhl p 5b induced a preferential allergen-specific Th2-response characterized by high immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) antibody levels and elevated interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 production in cultured splenocytes. By contrast, CBP-bound rPhl p 5b, but not rPhl p 5b alone or coadministered with CBP, induced a mixed allergen-specific T helper 1 (Th1)/Th2 immune response characterized by the additional production of allergen-specific IgG2a/b antibody responses and elevated interferon-gamma production. Conjugation of rPhl p 5b to CBP yielded a stable vaccine formulation with preserved immunogenic features of the allergen and, in contrast to alum, induced no granulomatous tissue reactions. Based on these results, CBP is suggested as a potentially useful adjuvant for specific immunotherapy of IgE-mediated allergies.