c-di-GMP is an effective immunomodulator and vaccine adjuvant against pneumococcal infection

Cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) is a unique bacterial intracellular signaling molecule capable of stimulating enhanced protective innate immunity against various bacterial infections. The effects of intranasal pretreatment with c-di-GMP, or intraperitoneal coadministration of c-di-GMP with the pneumolysin toxoid (PdB) or pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) before pneumococcal challenge, were investigated in mice. We found that c-di-GMP had no significant direct short-term effect on the growth rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae either in vitro or in vivo. However, intranasal pretreatment of mice with c-di-GMP resulted in a significant decrease in bacterial load in lungs and blood after serotypes 2 and 3 challenge, and a significant decrease in lung titers after serotype 4 challenge. Potential cellular mediators of these enhanced protective responses were identified in lungs and draining lymph nodes. Intraperitoneal coadministration of c-di-GMP with PdB or PspA before challenge resulted in significantly higher antigen-specific antibody titers and increased survival of mice, compared to that obtained with alum adjuvant. These findings demonstrate that local or systemic c-di-GMP administration stimulates innate and adaptive immunity against invasive pneumococcal disease. We propose that c-di-GMP can be used as an effective broad spectrum immunomodulator and vaccine adjuvant to prevent infectious diseases.