[0002] Manipulation of the immune systems of humans and animals is a recognised manner of avoiding or treating certain diseases or conditions.
[0003] The mechanisms by which the immune system controls disease include the induction of neutralising antibodies (a humoral immune response), and the generation of cellular or T-cell responses. The latter include T-helper cells (T
[0004] T-cells can be stimulated when peptide fragments from an antigen are bound to molecules known as MHC I or MHC II (major histocompatability complex, class I or class II) and are displayed on the surface of professional APCs (antigen presenting cells) such as DCs (dendritic cells) or macrophages. The T-cells contain antigen receptors which they employ to monitor the surface of cells for the presence of the peptide fragments from the antigen. The antigen receptors on T
[0005] The stimulated T-cells amplify the immune response in that when a T-cell recognises a target cell which is infected with the pathogen, or that contain an epitope which it recognises, a chain of events is triggered and these eventually result in death of the infected cells. In addition, some T-cells can stimulate secretion of cytokines or lymphokines, which in turn can exert effects that ultimately lead to inactivation or eradication of pathogens.
[0006] Although there are many vaccines on the market there is a need to produce more effective and broad ranging vaccines for a number of diseases or conditions. There also remains a need for protection against infective agents or pathogens against which vaccines are currently unavailable or ineffective. In addition, there is a need for effective, single-dose vaccines, which are particularly desirable for economic reasons, for ease of delivery, and for patient or subject compliance.
[0007] Most vaccines suffer from the disadvantage that they are not able to induce an optimal combination of the various types of humoral and cellular responses so as to be immunologically effective. For instance, some vaccines only stimulate antibody responses when both antibody and cellular responses would be more efficacious. In other instances, multiple doses of the vaccines eg booster shots are required in order to attain protection against the relevant infective agent.
[0008] In some other instances, IgE production is induced along with other desired immunoglobulins such as IgA, IgG and IgM. Vaccines that induce IgE are not desirable, as the immunoglobulin is involved in allergic responses.
[0009] Stimulation of IgA production is a “first line” defence for pathogens that infect via entry through a mucosal site or surface. Thus, vaccines that can generate a high IgA secretory immune response without enhancing IgE production would also be valuable.
[0010] In yet other instances, although a vaccine results in stimulation of APCs, the degree of immune stimulation is sub-optimal. For example, dendritic cells or DCs are characterised by a series of subset of cells that can be distinguished from each other by surface molecules some of which are specific ligands that bind receptors on T cells. Accordingly, it would be desirable to produce a vaccine which would selectively target a subset of DCs, eg a subset capable of efficient CD8 T-cell priming since these T-cells play a vital role in protective immunity against many intracellular pathogens and cancer, but are notoriously difficult to induce.
[0011] Further, with regard to vaccines extracellular antigens traditionally do not enter the MHC-I processing pathway in most cells. In general, the production of CTL immunity using nonliving vaccines is unlikely although alternative routes of processing and presentation for class 1 have been proposed in APC through the uptake of apoptotic cells, immune complexes and particles [1]. Non-infective viral like particles (VLP) composed of the surface Hepatitis B protein or yeast retro-transposon protein particles have been shown to be efficiently processed for MHC I presentation by macrophages to induce CD8 CTL responses in vitro and in vivo [2, 3]. VLPs are multimeric, lipid-containing protein particles the lipid content of which comprises more than 50% of the dry weight.
[0012] However, since Hepatitis B core protein particles fail to be immunogenic, and have a lower lipid content, it has been proposed that VLP are immunogenic not by virtue of size, but by biochemical composition. This would be consistent with the proposal that when antigen is presented in formulations containing lipid or detergent, they are able to fuse with the APC, possibly by damaging the cell membrane, and thus gain entry into the cytoplasm.
[0013] The use of microspheres within which are entrapped antigens have been explored as a possible vaccine composition. The microspheres are made from biodegradable polyesters of lactic and glycolic acids (PLA and PLGA). The microspheres are constructed such that their size and polymer composition control the rate at which they degrade. As the microspheres degrade, the entrapped antigen is released therefrom, and provides for a controlled release of antigen for stimulating the immune response. It is unlikely that these molecules would interface and react with immune cells in the same way as protein particles the make-up of which are biologically compatible with cellular membranes.
[0014] However, the difficulties with this form of vaccine composition include antigen stability, the size of the spheres and the antigen-release kinetics, all of which still need to be resolved so as to produce a vaccine with good antigenicity and lasting immunogenicity, and to produce a vaccine that can be manufactured and administered economically [4].
[0015] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,581, a composition comprising a mixture of heterogenous particles ranging in size is described as being useful for delivering antigens that are adsorbed onto the surface of the polymeric particles to the body. However, the successful delivery, antigenicity and immunogenicity of such a vaccine was not illustrated or shown. Specifically, there was no reference to the induction of CD8 T cell responses, or even processing into the MHC class I presentation pathway. The polymeric material of the particles would be expected to have similar characteristics as PLA or PLGA microparticles discussed above.
[0016] Thus, it was not known prior to the present invention if the size per se of particles administered as part of vaccines could induce immunogenic responses.
[0017] In work leading up to the present invention, the inventor has surprisingly found that microparticles about the same size as viruses associated with an antigen provide strong cellular and humoral antibody responses in subjects.
[0018] In a first embodiment the invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising at least one antigen in association with microparticles wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses.
[0019] The term “comprising” used in relation to the immunogenic composition means that the composition includes the antigen and microparticles. It may also include other components.
[0020] The term “antigen” refers to any molecule, moiety or entity capable of eliciting an immune response. This includes cellular and/or humoral immune responses. Depending on the intended function of the composition one or more antigens may be included.
[0021] The antigen may be a peptide, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, nucleic acid or other type of molecule or a combination of any of these.
[0022] The antigen may be derived from a pathogen, tissue, cell, organ or molecule depending on the intended purpose of the composition, and may be a purified antigen, or be of recombinant origin produced in suitable vectors such as bacteria, yeast or cell cultures. The pathogen for example may be any pathogen, intra or extracellular, antigenic portions or parts thereof, viral, bacterial or protozoal in origin such as HIV, influenza viruses, hepatitis viruses, malaria. Specifically, examples of the antigens envisaged by the present invention are as follows: pollens, hepatitis C virus, (HIV) core, E1, E2 and NS2 proteins, antigens from Plasmodium species such as
[0023] Lysates or culture filtrates from the pathogens exemplified above may also be used as the antigen. Such fractions may be in purified, concentrated or diluted form, so long as they provide antigenicity and/or immunogenicity. Thus it makes it possible to “tailor-make” an immunogenic composition for a patient in accordance with the invention by using patient tumor lysates or a specific set of tumor proteins conjugated to the microparticles.
[0024] The antigen may also be derived from any tumour type or malignancy. Examples of cancer types from which the antigens may be derived are breast, lung, pancreas and colon cancer and melanoma. Some further examples of specific antigens obtained from tumours are melanoma specific antigen (for example, the MAGE series antigen), carcino embryonic antigen (CEA) from colon, nm23 cancer antigen and other cancer antigens or indeed antigens extracted from any tumour, e.g. mucin such as MUC-1 to MUC-7 antigens. Recombinant peptides or proteins alone or in combination may also be used.
[0025] The antigen may also be a synthetic epitope such as a mimic or peptidomimetic based on one or more of the antigens referred to above.
[0026] The term “in association with” refers to an association between the microparticle and the antigen. This may be by adsorption or by conjugation or covalent coupling. Preferably the antigen is covalently linked to the microparticle. Even more preferably, the antigen is conjugated to the surface of the microparticle.
[0027] The term microparticle refers to a small particle. This may be in the form of a bead or sphere or any other suitable shape.
[0028] The term “virus sized particles” (VSP) is used in this document to describe certain embodiments of the immunogenic composition of the invention. It should be understood that the term VSP has only been adopted for convenience and does not limit the invention to the size of known viruses. For Example, particles of the same size as unknown viruses are also contemplated by the invention.
[0029] Preferably the microparticle has a solid core providing stability to the conjugated or associated antigens as distinct from the microspheres of the prior art which are hollow or encapsulate molecules. For convenience these are referred to herein as virus sized solid particles (VSSP) where the antigen is present on the outside of the particle. The particles used to make VSSP are available from the manufacturer and are substantially of uniform size (i.e., within ±10% of the stated size).
[0030] The term “solid core” means substantially solid (i.e. the particles are not hollow). The microparticle may be composed of any suitable material so long as it does not detract from the function of the immunogenic composition. Thus the microparticles may be made from materials such as latex, ferrous molecules, gold (such as gold nanoparticles), glass, calcium phosphate, polystyrene or biodegradable and biocompatible polymers such as PLG (Polylysine g). Preferably, the microparticles are composed of polystyrene, PLG or gold. Most preferably, the microparticles are made from polystyrene.
[0031] The microparticle is in the same size range as known viruses. This means that the microparticle is preferably less than about 0.50 μm. Preferably the microparticle is of such a size that it is adapted to elicit an immune response. In particular it is adapted to be taken up by antigen presenting cells within a human subject or an animal. More preferably the microparticles are between about 0.03 and 0.50 μm, preferably about 0.03 and 0.15 μm, still more preferably between about 0.03 and 0.10 μm. Even more preferably the microparticles are about 0.03 to 0.05 μm, more preferably the microparticles are between about 0.03 μm and 0.049 μm, still more preferably the microparticles are between about 0.03 and about 0.04 μm or about 0.04 and 0.049 μm.
[0032] In a preferred embodiment, a population of microparticles to be used in accordance with the invention, eg in one dose of vaccination, is of a uniform size. This means that the majority of the particles in a given population are of the stated size.
[0033] Preferably the microparticle/antigen composition is particularly adapted to elicit a cellular and/or humoral immune response. The cellular response is preferably selected from the group consisting of activation, maturation or proliferation of T
[0034] Cells which assist in mounting or amplifying an immune response may also be stimulated by the composition. These included but are not limited to APCs such as DCs of both myeloid or lymphoid origin, and macrophages. The maturation, activation or proliferation of such cells are contemplated, as are the co-stimulatory ligands or molecules on such cells that interact with T-cells, eg CD 40, CD 80 and CD 86.
[0035] The immunogenic composition of the invention may be used in treatment, prophylaxis or prevention of the disease or condition caused by, or associated with contact with the antigen. For example, the composition may be used in the treatment or prophylaxis of certain cancers.
[0036] In another embodiment the invention provides a vaccine composition comprising microparticles associated with at least one antigen wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses. The composition of the invention is particularly useful and advantageous as it is an effective single-dose vaccine but may also be used in multiple dose regimes.
[0037] Thus, in one embodiment, the invention provides a single-dose vaccine composition comprising microparticles associated with at least one antigen, wherein the microparticles are of the same size range as viruses.
[0038] By “single-dose”, it is meant that a humoral and/or cellular immune response is stimulated or enhanced to maximal levels ( “maximal” means that the levels are not capable of being further increased by repeated vaccination), or affords protection to the recipient of the composition, following one administration of the composition or. vaccine. The administration may be by any suitable means eg. by injection i.m., i.p., i.v., orally, by inhalation, or by administration through a mucosal surface or site.
[0039] Preferably, the antigen is conjugated to the surface of the microparticles. The size of the microparticles is between about 0.03 and 0.5 μm, preferably about 0.03 to 0.15 μm, more preferably about 0.03 to 0.10 μm even more preferably about 0.03 to 0.05 μm in diameter, even more preferably about 0.03 to 0.049 μm. Still more preferably 0.03 to 0.04 μm or 0.04 to 0.049 μm The microparticles are most preferably made of polystyrene, PLG, glass, calcium phosphate or gold. In a preferred embodiment, each antigen for use in accordance with the invention is conjugated to microparticles of a uniform size.
[0040] In a further embodiment, the invention provides a single-dose vaccine composition that is capable of mounting a humoral and a cellular immune response, the composition comprising microparticles associated with at least one antigen, wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses.
[0041] The cellular response is preferably selected from the group consisting of stimulation, maturation or proliferation of T
[0042] Cells which assist in mounting or amplifying an immune response may also be stimulated by the composition. These included but are not limited to APCs such as DCs of both myeloid or lymphoid origin, and macrophages. The maturation, activation or proliferation of such cells are contemplated.
[0043] The term “comprising” has the same meaning given above.
[0044] The term microparticle has the meaning given above. Preferably the microparticle is adapted to be taken up by antigen presenting cells in an animal. Preferably the microparticles are between 0.03 and 0.5 μm, preferably between 0.03 and 0.15 μm. More preferably the microparticles are between about 0.03 and 0.10 μm, more preferably the microparticles are between about 0.03 μm and about 0.05 μm. Still more preferably the microparticles are about 0.03 to 0.049 or 0.04 and 0.049 μm.
[0045] The terms “antigen” and “associated with” have the meanings given above. Any suitable antigen may be used depending on which condition/disease it is intended to vaccinate against.
[0046] The amount of vaccine composition of the invention delivered to a patient is not critical or limiting. An effective amount of the vaccine composition is that which will stimulate an immune response against the antigen component, preferably after a single dose or administration and desirably, will result in strong cellular and humoral responses. The amount of compositions delivered may vary according to the immune status of the patient (depending on whether the patient is immunosuppressed or immunostimulated), the judgement of attending physician or veterinarian, whether the composition is used as a vaccine to prevent or treat a disease state, or as a vaccine to prevent tumour formation, or whether the vaccine is used in the treatment of an existing tumour. By way of example, patients may receive from 1 μg to 10,000 μg of the composition of the invention, more preferably 50 μg to 5,000 μg, still more preferably 100 μg to 1,000 μg, and even more preferably 100 μg to 500 μg of the composition of the invention. Adjuvants are not generally required. However, adjuvants may be used for immunization. Suitable adjuvants include alum, as well as any other adjuvant or adjuvants well known in the vaccine art for administration to humans.
[0047] The vaccine of the invention may be administered by injection, by administration via the oral route, by inhalation or by administration via a mucosal surface or site. In one embodiment, the vaccine is administered by means of a gene gun. Ferrous microparticles and gold microparticles if used in accordance with the invention are especially suitable for administration by gene gun, However, other types of microparticles with antigens may be administered in this manner. For example, antigens derived from malaria libraries, DNA or plasmids have been shown to be effectively administered by gene gun in accordance with the procedure described in Smooker PM et al, “Expression library immunisation protects mice against a challenge with virulent malaria.” Vaccine, 18(22): 2533-2540, 2000, incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. Vaccination may be by single or multiple dose administration or via prime-boosting.
[0048] In a further embodiment the invention provides a method of eliciting an immune response in a subject said method comprising administering to a subject an immunologically effective amount of a composition comprising at least one antigen associated with microparticles, wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses.
[0049] The subject may be any human or animal in which it is desired to elicit an immune response. This includes domestic animals, livestock (such as cattle, sheep, horses, cows, pigs, goats, llamas, poultry, ostriches, emus) and native and exotic animals, wild animals and feral animals.
[0050] The term “comprising” has the same meaning as given above.
[0051] An immunologically effective amount refers to an amount sufficient to generate an immune response in the subject, preferably after a single administration. This will vary depending on a number of factors including those discussed above, and may depend on whether the subject is a human or animal, its age, weight and so on.
[0052] The terms “antigen” and “associated with” have the same meanings as given above.
[0053] The term “immune response” refers to the cellular and humoral responses as described above, and also to the response by cells that assist in mounting or amplifying the immune response as described above. In particular the immune response may be provided by the proliferation and/or expansion of dendritic cells, particularly DEC205+, CD40+ and CD86+ cells.
[0054] The term microparticle has the same meaning as given above. Preferably the microparticle is between 0.03 and 0.5 μm, more preferably between about 0.03 and 0.15 μm, still more preferably between 0.03 and 0.1 μm. Even more preferably the microparticle is between about 0.03 μm and 0.05 μm, even more preferably between about 0.03 and 0.04 or between about 0.19 and 0.049 μm. Still more preferably the antigen/microparticle composition is particularly adapted to elicit a strong cellular and/or humoral immune response.
[0055] In a preferred embodiment the invention provides a method of eliciting an immune response in a subject said method comprising administering to a subject an immunologically effective amount of a composition comprising at least one antigen associated with microparticles, wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses and the immune response comprises the stimulation and/or proliferation of dendritic cells. Preferably the microparticles are about 40 nm to 50 nm, most preferably 40 to 49 nm in size.
[0056] In another embodiment the invention provides a method of eliciting a protective immune response to an antigen via a single dose said method comprising administering, once only to a subject, an immunologically effective amount of a composition comprising at least one antigen associated with microparticles, wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses and the immune response comprises the stimulation and/or proliferation of dendritic cells. Preferably the microparticles are about 40 nm to 50 nm, most preferably about 40 to 49 nm in size.
[0057] In another embodiment the invention provides a method of in vivo delivery of an antigen to dendritic cells in order to elicit an immune response said method comprising administering to a subject an immunologically effective amount of a composition comprising at least one antigen associated with microparticles, wherein the microparticles are in the same size range as viruses and the immune response comprises the stimulation and/or proliferation of dendritic cells. Preferably the microparticles are about 40 nm to 50 nm, most preferably about 40 to 49 nm in size.
[0058] The invention also extends to a method of producing an immunogenic microparticle/antigen composition comprising contacting microparticles which are in the same size range as viruses with one or more antigens such that the microparticles and antigens become associated. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with the techniques used to produce such a composition.
[0059] The invention will now be described with reference to the following non-limiting examples and figures.
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[0081] Materials and Methods used Mice and Immunizations C57BL/6 and BALB/c 6- to 8-week-old mice were purchased from the Walter and Eliza Hall. Mice were immunized with 100 μl of antigen conjugated beads intradermally (ID) in the hind footpads.
[0082] Reagents:
[0083] All reagents including the antigen Ovalbumin (OVA, Grade III) and 1-Ethyl-3-(3-DimethylAminopropyl)Carbodiamide (EDAC) were purchased from Sigma unless otherwise stated. Monoclonal antibodies for FACScan and confocal studies were either purified in house from hybridoma lines on a Protein G column (Pharmacia) or purchased from Pharmigen. FITC conjugated and carboxylated fluospheres 0.02-2 μwere purchased from Molecular Probes and non-fluorescent carboxylated microspheres from Polysciences. Abs to the following markers were used: MHC II, MHC I, CD11c, CD11b, F4/80, NLD-145, CD8alpha, CD40, CD80 and CD86. The anti-Rab4 monoclonal antibody used in confocal studies was the kind gift of Dr. Russel (Peter McCallum Research Institute).
[0084] Antigen Presenting Cells:
[0085] Denditric cells were prepared from bone marrow monocytes with minor modifications of previously published methods [5]. Briefly cells were harvested from tibia and long bones of the hind limbs by flushing out the cells from the bone cavities with media, following by red cells lysis. The cells were plated out at 1×10
[0086] Bead-antigen conjugation was performed following the manufacturers instructions. Briefly, OVA was diluted to 2.0 mg/ml in 0.05M MES buffer pH 6.0 mixed in a volume ratio of 1:1 with beads of 2% solids/volume. The mixture was rocked gently for 15 minutes and then 4 mg/ml EDAC was added. The pH of the mixture was adjusted to 6.5 with dilute NaOH and the mixture was rocked gently for two to three hours. The reaction was stopped with glycine to a final concentration of 100 mM. After 30 minutes of mixing the preparation was dialysed overnight in the cold in PBS. The preparation was either used immediately or stored at 4 ° C. with 0.01% azide for later use.
[0087] Cytotoxicity Assays:
[0088] These were performed as described [3]. Briefly, effector cells for cytotoxicity assays were generated by culturing spleen cells for 7 days at 2.5×10
[0089] Cytotoxic T cell Precursor( CTLp) Assays:
[0090] CTLp assays were performed as described previously [7 ] CTLp frequencies were determined from a minimum of 32 replicates, for at least 6 effector cell numbers (1×103−1.28×105). Cells were cultured in U-bottomed microtitre trays, with 5×105 mitomycin C treated syngeneic spleen cells, in DMEM supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum, 5 μM of SIINFEKL or OVA and 10 U/ml rhlL-2. Seven days later, each microculture was assayed for cytotoxicity by replacing 100 ml of culture medium with 100 μl target cell suspension containing 104 51 Cr-labelled EL4 OR EG7 as targets. Cytotoxic activity was considered to be present if in each well 51 Cr release was found three standard deviations above the mean isotope release from 104 effectors cultured with stimulators only or from stimulator cells with peptide only or rlL2 only. A linear relationship (0.987≦r2≦1) existed between the number of responder cells, represented on a linear scale, and the frequency of negative wells on a logarithmic scale. CTLp frequencies were determined as the inverse of responder cell dose required to generate 37% negative wells[8, 9]. CTLp frequency assays were performed three times and the individual frequencies did not differ by more than 20% from the mean value.
[0091] ELISPOT IFNγ Assays:
[0092] These were performed as described [3]. Briefly, 100 μl of 5×10
[0093] Bead uptake by dendritic cells and macrophages Three day old macrophage cultures grown on microscope slides and five day old dendritic cell cultures were fed with different size fluorescent microbeads for periods of 5 minutes to 24 hours. The cultures were then washed to remove free beads and prepared for FACScan or confocal analysis.
[0094] Analysis of Cells Taking Up Beads In Vivo:
[0095] Draining lymph nodes and spleens were collected from bead immuninuzed mice at various time intervals from 12 hrs post immunization and up to 12 days. Cells were collected and after red blood cell lysis and washing they were prepared for FACscan or confocal analysis.
[0096] Cell Surface Marker Staining and Flow Cytometry: For surface staining, 5×10
[0097] Confocal Microscopy of Phagocytosed FITC-Labelled Beads:
[0098] An Olympus scanning confocal microscope was used with a Krypton-Argon laser source equipped with dual fluorescence and transmission detection to determine whether fluoresceinated beads of different sizes were phagocytosed by macrophages or dendritic cells. Serial sections through the samples were acquired at step sizes between 0.5-1.0 microns to determine phagocytosis and analysed on Optiscan Analyzer. Cells were excited at 488 nm and 568 nm for fluorescein and Alexa 594 respectively and detected through 530 nm and 610 nm band pass filters respectively. Throughout acquisition, laser power was kept below saturation levels and gain and offset parameters maintained within individual experiments.
[0099] ELISA Assays:
[0100] Antibody responses to OVA were measured using ELISA. Polyvinyl chloride microtitre plates were coated with OVA (10 μg/ ml in 0.2 M NaHCO3 buffer, pH 9,6) overnight at 4° C. The plates were washed 4× with PBS/0.05% Tween20 and 4× with PBS and then blocked for non-specific binding with 2% bovine serum albumin for 1 h at room temperature. After washing as above serial dilutions of the mouse sera were added and incubated for a further 1 h at room temperature. Non immune mouse serum was used as the negative control. The plates were washed and the bound antibody detected using horseradish-peroxidase-conjugated sheep anti-mouse Ig (Selinus, AUS) and the chromogenic substrate 2,2″-azino-di(3-ethylbenzthiazoline) sulphonate (Amersham, UK). The absorption at 405 nm was recorded using an EL 312e microplate reader.
[0101] A number of studies using cells from the macrophage/monocyte lineage have shown particle size dependent phagocytosis, with optimal uptake at a 1 micron diameter [10, 11]. Uptake has been observed in dendritic cells, however, a comprehensive range of particle sizes has not been tested. The inventor was specifically interested to establish whether. protein coated particles of viral size (0.03-0.1 μm), would be efficiently taken up by dendritic cells or macrophages.
[0102] Efficient VSSP uptake by dendritic cells in vivo suggested their use for targeted antigen delivery and potential as novel vaccines. C57/BL mice were immunised with ovalbumin (OVA) coated particles of 0.02, 0.04,0.1,0.2,0.5,1 or 2 μm, boosted after 15 days and serum or spleen cells collected 10 days later.
[0103] The results shown in
[0104] It has been suggested that peptides derived from digestion of exogenous antigen through the class II MHC processing pathway may be regurgitated and subsequently bind to empty class I MHC molecules at the cell surface [1, 10] . This alternative mechanism of class I presentation is independent of transport into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) mediated by TAP (transporter associated with antigen processing). Hepatitis B surface protein VLPs are processed for class I presentation in macrophages by a TAP independent mechanism [2] . The inventor immunised TAP knockout C57/BL mice with OVA-conjugated VSSPs. No T cell responses above background levels could be detected to SIINFEKL or OVA in TAP-KO animals suggesting VSSP processing for class I presentation was by contrast, TAP dependent. A TAP dependent mechanism of class I presentation of exogenous antigen has been described for proteins adsorbed onto 1 μm particles based on ‘leakiness’ of endocytic vesicles and accidental release of antigen into the cytoplasm [1, 10] . Processing of such large particles taken up by phagocytosis involves an early conjugation step with lysosomes expressing the Rab4 adaptor protein [13]. The inventor used confocal microscopy to determine whether VSSPs would be routed via this pathway.
[0105] C57BL/6 mice were left untreated (naïve) or immunized with fluorescent 0.1 μm fluo-beads intradermally in the foot pad. Popliteal lymph node (LN) were dissected 48 hours after injection and analysed for expression of CD40 by staining with PE conjugated antibodies specific for this marker.
[0106] The results (
[0107] 0.04, 0.05 μm and 0.1 polystyrene beads alone or conjugated to OVA were able to induce dendritic cells purified from mouse bone marrow to proliferation in vitro. Immature, but not mature (after activation with LPS and TFN-alpha) dendritic cells were susceptible to this activating effect of VSSP (
[0108] These data together suggest that particles of 0.04-0.1 μm in size (VSSP) have the unsuspected and previously unknown ability to stimulate antigen presenting cells, including dendritic cells, and specifically cells expressing potent co-stimulatory molecules like CD40 and CD86 to proliferate and expand. This could further explain why they are so potent. Moreover, it suggests a mechanism by which VSSP may have an adjuvant effect (see Example 14 below) even for responses to antigen when it is not chemically conjugated to them.
[0109] To assess further which cells take up VSSP rapidly after intradermal footpad injection (and thus may be responsible for subsequent activation of immunity), the draining popliteal draining lymph node was dissected. The phenotype of cells that had taken up 0.04 μm VSSP-OVA with a fluorescent core was then analysed by FACScan and compared to identical particles but which were 1 μm in size.
[0110] To address the mechanism of 0.04 μm bead-OVA uptake by dendritic cells (DC), bone-marrow derived DC were incubated with inhibitors of phagocytosis (cytochalasin D, CDD); clathrin pit (amiloride, AML) or caveole mediated internalisation (phorbol myristate acetate, PMA) [14, 15]. DC were cultured in triplicate with PMA, AML, CDD, filipin (FIL) or ammonium chloride (AM) (all from Sigma) at the stated concentrations for 30 min. OVA-fluorescent 0.04 μm beads were added for a further 3 hours and uptake was quantified by FACScan.
[0111] PMA and AML both decreased 0.04 μm beads-OVA uptake by DC, whereas CCD failed to cause any inhibition (
[0112] Amiloride acts by inhibiting Na+-H+ exchange necessary for receptor mediated endocytosis [14]. The inventor tested additionally ammonium chloride which inhibits the assembly of clathrin pits by interfering with cytosol acidification [14]. Ammonium chloride inhibited uptake of 0.04 but not of 1 μm size beads (
[0113] Caveole and clathrin pits can convey molecules to endosormal and lysosomal compartments [14, 16]. Alternatively, caveole may deliver antigen directly into the cytosol [17] leading to cytoplasmic processing and TAP dependent transport into the endoplasmic reticulum for presentation with MHC class I [1, 18].
[0114] These results, together with those shown in Example 4, indicate a novel pathway for processing of antigens presented in accordance with the present invention. The immunogenic composition of the invention appears to be taken up by antigen presenting cells via caveole and/or clathrin pits, after which the antigens are processed by Rab4 independent and TAP dependent pathways for MHC class I presentation. This observation is novel in that the ability of caveole to induce the TAP-dependent antigen processing pathway and CD8 cells has not been reported before.
[0115] 50 nm (i.e. 0.05 μm) (VSSP) OVA conjugated particles were compared directly with OVA alone or 1000 nm (i.e. 1 μm) OVA conjugated particles, for ability to protect mice against subsequent subcutaneous challenge with 100,000 tumour cells (EL4) expressing OVA. All mice were immunised with 100 μg of either of the above (or nothing=naïve) intra-dermally once and then challenged with tumour 30 days later.
[0116] Intradermal immunisation with OVA-conjugated VSSPs induced IFNγ producing and cytotoxic SIINFEKL specific T cells (
[0117] Examples 10 to 13 described below formally demonstrate that VSSP can be used with a variety of antigens and induce broad immunity comprising both IFN and IL4 producing T cells. High levels of IgG, but not the potentially allergenic IgE antibodies are also induced after a single dose.
[0118] The effectiveness of VSSP for therapy is shown in an additional two models. 1) 100% clearance of established tumours (see Example 10) and 2) protection against lethal malaria after a single administration of the vaccine.(see Example 11). This further confirms VSSP as an unusually potent and flexible vaccination protocol to develop single dose vaccines against a variety of diseases. Moreover, on the basis of these findings the inventor believes that VSSP may be used for therapy as well as prevention of cancer
[0119] The inventor has observed that a single immunisation with beads-OVA protects completely against subsequent challenge with tumours expressing OVA.
[0120] C57/B6 mice were immunised once with 100 μg bead(0.05 μm)-OVA (ID) or left untreated (naïve). After 30 days, mice were challenged with 5×10
[0121] The inventor now shows that already established tumours can be cured by a single immunisation into a tumour bearing mouse. Tumours were cleared from immunised mice within two weeks after a single injection. This therapeutic ability is highly unusual for any cancer vaccine, and makes this vaccination vehicle highly promising for development of a therapeutic vaccine (
[0122] Mucin-1 or Muc1 is a breast cancer associated antigen. Immunisation once with VSSP-Muc1 protein also inhibited tumour formation in mice challenged with tumour cell lines expressing the breast cancer antigen (see
[0123] The inventor demonstrates that polysterene beads of 0.05 μm in diameter may be used as a vehicle to induce protection against malaria in mice. A lysate from
[0124] Blood was collected from C57BU6mice infected with
[0125] All the animals survived the challenge, whereas 60% of the animals immunised with the lysate alone (without bead conjugation) failed to control the infection and died (
[0126] 1) Polysterene beads of 0.05 μm in diameter conjugated to antigens other than OVA, such as the cancer antigen nm23 also induce strong cellular immunity as evidenced by the induction of high levels of IFN gamma secreting T cells (
[0127] 2) As well as inducing cellular immunity, beads-OVA or beads-nm23 induced high levels of IL4 (
[0128] 1) Polysterene bead of 0.05 μm in diameter conjugated to OVA induced, after a single intradermal (ID) injection induced high titres of IgG antibody (
[0129] 2) Despite high IgG levels, there are no detectable IgE levels. Therefore, this vaccine is demonstrated formally to have no risk of inducing potentially damaging (since they are involved in allergy) IgE responses (
[0130] With a view to identifying useful routes of administration of the vaccine in humans, as well as intra-dermally as described above, VSSP conjugated to OVA (100 μg/mouse) was administered to mice intra-peritoneally, sub-cutaneously, intra-nasally and intra-rectally. 3-4 mice per group were tested 30 days after a single immunisation. Similarly to the intra-dermal, all routes induced T cells which secreted IFNg to SIINFEKL or to OVA by ELISPOT assay (1/50,000 to1/2,000 spleen cells). Surprisingly, in contrast to the initial observations using intradermal injection which induced high levels of IgG but little or no IgA, VSSP-OVA by these other routes induced serum IgA responses, and the intra-rectal and intra-nasal route did not induce detectable IgG (titre <1/100) (Table 1). VSSP by the intra-rectal, intra-peritoneal, intra-nasal and subcutaneous routes could therefore also be used to induce protective immunity to diseases where IgA plays a protective role, such as mucosal infections (eg. in lung, cervix or gut).
TABLE 1 Route Serum IgG titre Serum IgA titre Intra-rectal <1/100, <1/100, 1/1280, 1/640, <1/100 1/1280 Intra-peritoneal 1/1640, 1/100, >1/5120, >1/5120, 1/400 >1,5120 Intra-nasal <1/100, <1/100, 1/160, 1/320, <1/100, <1/100 1/320, 1/640 subcutaneous 1/800, >1/5120, >1/5120, 1/200,1/6560 >1/5120
[0131] Immunisation twice with VSSP-OVA (100 μg/mouse 14 days apart) led to the generation of surprisingly high serum Ig and IgG antibody titres of >1/500,000 as assessed by ELISA. Similar results were obtained for specific IgG antibodies after two immunisations with the breast cancer antigen nm23 and the malaria antigen MSP4/5, when conjugated to VSSP.
[0132] Responses to VSSP-OVA were surprisingly long-lasting.
[0133] Vaccinia-MUC1 was used to boost responses of animals primed with nothing, peptide cp13-32 (cp13) from MUC1 in complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA), Mannan conjugated MUC1 (recombinant MUC1-GST fusion protein)(M-FP) or 0.1 μm VSSP-MUC1 (recombinant MUC1-GST fusion protein)(VSSP).
[0134] The inventor's hypothesis that the 0.04-0.05 μm size of solid core is the principal determinant of VSSP immunogenicity predicts that particles made of material other than polystyrene would be highly immunogenic within this size range. Thus, she compared immunogenicity in mice after a single immunisation intradermally with 0.05 μm particles made of polystyrene (PS) or of glass (G1 or G2) and conjugated to OVA using the same chemical procedure (G1) or binding using. glutaraldehyde (G2).
[0135] The results show that mixing antigen with 0.05 μm particles makes it more immunogenic than antigen alone, but that covalent linkage is necessary for optimal immunogenicity. The chemical procedure used to conjugate antigen to VSSP could therefore theoretically be a determinant of immunogenicity. Specifically the overall charge of the particle could promote interaction with specific serum or other endogenous proteins. These in turn could theoretically promote uptake by dendritic cells, and cause high immunogenicity. To test for this, mice were immunised with 50nm (i.e. 0.05 μm) particles having different charges on the surface. OVA-VSSP has an overall negative charge due to use of carboxylate modified nanoparticles and quenching the activated carboxylic acid groups after conjugation of OVA with glycine (Glycine
[0136] In view of the results above, the composition of the invention provides a way to further improve or optimise vaccines or vaccination strategy that could apply to a variety of infections, cancer or other diseases.
[0137] The optimal size of the VSSP coincides with that of most known viruses (30-150 nm). Hence, it is tempting to speculate that use of the VSSPs is biologically significant. From the above observations, the inventor believes that the immune system may be geared to react fully to particles of the size range of the VSSPs. Before the present invention, it was not known or understood that the stimulation of an immune response could depend to a great extent on the size of an immune stimulant that falls within the size range of viruses, especially when epitopes from other pathogens eg bacteria, fungi are considerably large. Indeed, antigens targeted through this pathway elicited surprisingly broad (comprising both humoral and cellular arms of the immune response) and strong responses (inducing rapidly long lasting high effector T cell precursor frequencies) suggesting the immune system may be geared to react fully to particles of viral size. Previous studies utilising VLPs (i.e. pure antigen not linked to a particle) comprised of HepB surface proteins, or the yeast retrotransposon protein (Ty) have also shown broad and long lasting immunity induced by a single immunizing dose, although responses were still 10-100 fold lower than with VSSPs [1, 2, 3, 19, 20]. However it has been assumed that characteristics other than size alone, such as their lipid or mannan content, or membrane biding proteins are responsible for the ability of VLPs to induce class I restricted T cell responses [1]. Not wishing to be bound by theory, the inventor considers that the combination of efficient targeting to antigen presenting cells such as dendritic cells in vivo by VSSPs, followed by potential slow antigen release by proteolysis from VSSPs, may have generated particularly powerful immunogens.
[0138] Use of VSSP as novel vaccines was demonstrated by the ability of a single immunising dose to protect against subsequent challenge with tumor cells in the OVA model. The inventor has also observed broad and strong immunogenicity and protection to an antigen expressed in breast cancer, mucin-1 (MUC-1). The intradermal route of administration utilised in their animal studies may be easily implemented in humans. VSSPs may thus offer a particularly attractive and simple strategy for human vaccine development, in particular to diseases where both humoral and cellular immunity participate in generating protection, such as malaria, cancer and viral diseases, notably, AIDS and hepatitis [10, 12, 21, 25-28]. The targeting of recombinant antigen to class I presentation pathway also offers the possibility of inducing T cell responses to multiple epitopes, and thus would extend the use of such vaccines in a MHC diverse target human population.
[0139] At present, priming of DCs for effective stimulation of CTLs is by ex vivo pulsing of DCs but this is expensive and logistically difficult. The present invention provides an alternative to efficiently deliver antigens to DCs in vivo, leading to the subsequent induction of high numbers of antigen specific CD8 T-cells and immune protection. The ability of the VSSPs within the narrow size range of 0.04-0.05 μm to induce singularly high CD8 T-cell levels could be the consequence of efficient uptake by APCs or by a potent subset, targeting to the MHC 1 processing pathway and/or direct stimulation of APC function. Uptake of the VSSPs was found to be enhanced in the lymph node, compared to other sizes, and this enhancement was attributed to increased frequencies of particle positive DEC205+ cells, a marker of DCs. DCs are powerful APC and expression of CD40 and CD86 further characterises a subset capable of efficient CD8 T-cell priming. These markers were found in a high proportion of VSSP+ cells. Thus, uptake and selective localisation of VSSP in this potent DC subset in vivo could explain the immunogenicity of the microparticles according to the invention.
[0140] Other advantages of the VSSP of the invention include the ability to induce immune responses including IgA production following administration via a number of routes, and their suitability for prime-boost vaccination strategy.
[0141] Further studies will involve the use of the VSSPs to determine the physiological mechanisms that make them elicit the unique immune response obtained.
[0142] It is to be understood that various other embodiments of the invention that is described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the central concept underlying the invention.
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