There are no mucosal adjuvant formulations licensed for human use, despite protection against many mucosally-transmitted infections probably requiring immunity at the site of pathogen entry1. Polyethyleneimines (PEI) are organic polycations used as nucleic acid transfection reagents in vitro, and gene and DNA vaccine delivery vehicles in vivo2, 3. Here we show that PEI has unexpected and unusually potent mucosal adjuvant activity in conjunction with viral subunit glycoprotein antigens. Single intranasal administration of influenza HA or HSV-2 gD with PEI elicited robust protection from otherwise lethal infection, and was superior to existing experimental mucosal adjuvants. PEI formed nanoscale complexes with antigen that were taken up by antigen presenting cells in vitro and in vivo, promoted DC trafficking to draining lymph nodes and induced non-proinflammatory cytokine responses. PEI adjuvanticity required release of host dsDNA that triggered Irf-3-dependent signaling. PEI therefore merits further investigation as a mucosal adjuvant for human use.

Little is known of how a strong immune response in the lungs is regulated to minimize tissue injury during severe influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Here, using a model of lethal, high-pathogenicity IAV infection, we first show that Ly6C(hi)Ly6G(-) inflammatory monocytes, and not neutrophils, are the main infiltrate in lungs of WT mice. Mice devoid of iNKT cells (Jα18(-/-) mice) have increased levels of inflammatory monocytes, which correlated with increased lung injury and mortality (but not viral load). Activation of iNKT cells correlated with reduction of MCP-1 levels and improved outcome. iNKT cells were able to selectively lyse infected, MCP-1-producing monocytes in vitro, in a CD1d-dependent process. Our study provides a detailed profile and kinetics of innate immune cells in the lungs during severe IAV infection, highlighting inflammatory monocytes as the major infiltrate and identifying a role for iNKT cells in control of these cells and lung immune-pathology.