Suitability of Polymyxin B as a Mucosal Adjuvant for Intranasal Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccines

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Evaluation of Host-Pathogen Responses and Vaccine Efficacy in Mice
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Evaluation of Host-Pathogen Responses and Vaccine Efficacy in Mice

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Naoto Yoshino1, Takuya Yokoyama2,3, Hironori Sakai4

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, 1-1-1 Idaidori, Yahaba 028-3694, Iwate, Japan.

Vaccines
|November 25, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Polymyxin B enhances mucosal immunity against viral infections. This antibiotic boosts IgA and IgG antibody production for intranasal vaccines, showing potential for preventing infections like SARS-CoV-2.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Vaccinology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) breakthrough infections highlight insufficient mucosal IgA from mRNA vaccines.
  • Polymyxin B (PMB) is known to enhance mucosal immunity for ovalbumin (OVA), but its adjuvanticity for other antigens is unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mucosal adjuvanticity of Polymyxin B (PMB) for influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA) and SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) proteins.
  • To evaluate the potential of PMB as an intranasal vaccine adjuvant for inducing mucosal immunity.

Main Methods:

  • BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally or subcutaneously with HA or SARS-CoV-2 S proteins, alone or with PMB.
  • Antigen-specific IgA and IgG antibody levels in mucosal secretions and plasma were quantified.
  • The diameter of PMB-virus antigen complexes was analyzed for its role in mucosal immunity induction.

Main Results:

  • PMB significantly increased antigen-specific IgA in mucosal secretions and IgG in plasma for both HA and S proteins.
  • The size of the PMB-virus antigen complex was found to be critical for inducing mucosal immunity.
  • No adverse effects were observed on the nasal mucosa or olfactory bulb.

Conclusions:

  • Polymyxin B demonstrates mucosal adjuvanticity for viral antigens, enhancing both IgA and IgG antibody responses.
  • PMB shows promise as a safe intranasal adjuvant for inducing protective mucosal immunity against transmissible infections.
  • Optimizing PMB-virus antigen complex size is key for effective intranasal vaccine development.
Keywords:
S proteinS1 subunitSARS-CoV-2hemagglutinininfluenza A virusmucosal adjuvantpolymyxin B

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