SummaryThere is a current lack of effective mucosal vaccines against major gastroenteric pathogens and particularly against Helicobacter pylori, which causes a chronic infection that can lead to peptic ulcers and gastric cancer in a subpopulation of infected individuals. Mucosal CD4 + T-cell responses have been shown to be essential for vaccine-induced protection against H. pylori infection. The current study addresses the influence of the adjuvant and site of mucosal immunization on early CD4 + T-cell priming to H. pylori antigens. The vaccine formulation consisted of H. pylori lysate antigens and mucosal adjuvants, cholera toxin (CT) or a detoxified double-mutant heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli (dmLT), which were administered by either the sublingual or intragastric route. We report that in vitro, adjuvants CT and dmLT induce up-regulation of proinflammatory gene expression in purified dendritic cells and enhance the H. pylori-specific CD4 + T-cell response including interleukin-17A (IL-
BackgroundChronic Helicobacter pylori infection is the cause of peptic ulcers in a subpopulation of individuals and a risk factor for the development of gastric cancer. A vaccine against H pylori infection can prevent the acquisition of the infection and protect against reinfections. Clinical trials to date evaluating the efficacy of H pylori vaccines in human challenge models have shown moderate to poor protection with difficulties in predicting efficacy. Thus, while further studies are needed to design an effective vaccine, we also need to find relevant correlates for vaccine efficacy.ObjectiveTo find immune correlates to vaccine efficacy, the frequencies of neutrophils, eosinophils and inflammatory monocytes and CD4+ T‐cell memory and mucosa homing integrin α4β7+ cells were assessed by flow cytometry in the blood of mice after vaccination.Materials and Methods
H pylori antigens and cholera toxin or the multiple mutant CT (mmCT) were administered via the sublingual (SL) and intragastric route (IG). The vaccinated mice were infected with H pylori strain SS1 bacteria, and colonization in the stomach and immune responses were evaluated.ResultsThe H pylori vaccine was effective in reducing bacterial load in the stomach of mice and enhancing immune responses compared to unvaccinated infection controls. In the blood of mice after SL or IG route of vaccination, we observed changes in frequencies of innate and adaptive immune cell subsets compared to infection controls. Remarkably, the frequency of circulating mucosal homing α4β7+CD4+ T cells after vaccination correlated with low bacterial load in the stomach of individual mice irrespective of the immunization route.ConclusionsOur study shows that the innate and adaptive immune cell subsets can be measured in the blood after vaccination and that increased frequency of α4β7+CD4+ in the blood after immunization could be used as a predictive marker for the efficacy of vaccine against H pylori infection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.