Cationic polymer-modified Alhagi honey polysaccharide PLGA nanoparticles as an adjuvant to induce strong and...

Alhagi honey polysaccharide (AHP) exhibit an excellent immune adjuvant effect, but low bioavailability in the body limits its application. Cationic polymer-modified poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles have been widely investigated as vaccine delivery systems owing to their excellent antigen-loading efficiency. In this study, three kinds of cationic polymer were used to coat AHP-encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles (AHPP) to build positively charged antigen carriers. Among them, H5N1-loaded PEI-AHPP formulation could induce highest hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titer, IgG-subtype, and cytokines, activated dendritic cells (DCs) in lymph nodes, and CD3e⁺CD4⁺ and CD3e⁺CD8a⁺ T cells in the spleen of immunized mice. PEI-AHPP could stimulate DCs to highly express MHCI and MHCII molecules and had good antigen slow-release effect at the injected site along with lymph node targeting. These findings demonstrate that PEI-AHPP has the potential to be an effective adjuvant to induce strong and long-lasting Th1 and Th2 mixed immune responses.