Foot-and-mouth
disease (FMD), a serious, fast-spreading, and virulent
disease, has led to huge economic losses to people all over the world.
Vaccines are the most effective way to control FMD. However, the weak
immunogenicity of inactivated FMD virus (FMDV) requires the addition
of adjuvants to enhance the immune effectiveness of the vaccines.
Herein, we formulated and fabricated biodegradable dendritic mesoporous
tetrasulfide-doped organosilica nanoparticles SOMSN with imiquimod
complex (SOMSN-IMQ) and used it as a platform for FMD vaccine delivery
and as an adjuvant. SOMSN-IMQ demonstrated excellent stability for
6 months when stored in PBS, while it could be completely degraded
within 42 days in SBF at room temperature. Biosafety experiments such
as cell toxicity, hemolysis, and histology indicated that the as-prepared
SOMSN-IMQ showed nontoxicity and good biocompatibility. Furthermore,
SOMSN-IMQ exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 1000 μg/mg
for inactivated FMDV antigens. Our results showed that SOMSN-IMQ can
be effectively engulfed by RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner.
After immunization, SOMSN-IMQ@FMDV can elicit persistent higher antibody
levels, higher IgG2a/IgG1 ratio, and cytokine expression, which indicated
that SOMSN-IMQ@FMDV triggered superior humoral and cellular immune
responses. Moreover, SOMSN-IMQ could provoke maturation and activation
of dendritic cells in lymph nodes (LDCs) as well as the proliferation
of lymphocytes in vivo. Thus, SOMSN-IMQ could promote
effective and potent immunity and provide a promising adjuvant platform
for FMDV vaccination with acceptable safety.
Adjuvants have proven to be integral components in most vaccines for promoting appropriate immune responses at both innate and adaptive levels. Imiquimod (IMQ, R837), an agonist for Toll-like receptors 7...
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