Poria cocos Polysaccharide Fraction PCP-II Enhances Humoral and Cellular Responses to a SARS-CoV-2 RBD Subunit...

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates the development of effective adjuvants to enhance subunit vaccine immunogenicity. Safe adjuvants are essential to enhance the immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) subunit vaccines. Traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides are attractive candidates due to their immunomodulatory properties.

Female BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks) were immunized on days 0, 7, and 21 with an RBD protein (20 μg) alone or formulated with Poria cocos polysaccharide fraction PCP-I or PCP-II (200 μg), Isatis indigotica polysaccharide, or aluminum adjuvant; PBS served as a control. RBD-specific total IgG and subclasses were quantified by ELISA on day 7 after the third immunization. Neutralizing antibody titers were measured by a pseudovirus assay on days 14, 28, and 56 after the first immunization. Splenic CD19⁺ B cells were analyzed by flow cytometry, and antigen-stimulated IFN-γ and IL-4 spot-forming cells were quantified by ELISpot.

PCP-II significantly increased RBD-specific total IgG and IgG1 compared with RBD alone and other formulations, whereas IgG2a and IgG2b remained unchanged. Both PCP-I and PCP-II increased neutralizing titers versus RBD alone, and PCP-II showed an earlier and sustained increase in neutralizing responses through day 56. PCP-II showed a non-significant increase in splenic CD19⁺ B cell frequency. PCP-I and PCP-II markedly increased IFN-γ-secreting splenocytes without increasing IL-4, indicating enhanced antigen-specific cellular responses.

In this comparative evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharide candidates in a SARS-CoV-2 RBD subunit vaccine model, PCP-II showed the most prominent adjuvant activity. PCP-II enhanced antigen-specific humoral immunogenicity, improved neutralizing antibody responses, and was associated with increased IFN-γ-related cellular responses, supporting its potential as a candidate polysaccharide adjuvant for protein subunit vaccines.