Iscoms containing purified Quillaja saponins upregulate both Th1-like and Th2-like immune responses.
The immune stimulating complex (iscom) is built up by antigen, cholesterol, phospholipids, and adjuvant active Quillaja saponins. Previous studies have shown that iscoms containing Quil A (a semipurified preparation of saponins) efficiently induce antibody and cell-mediated immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate that iscoms containing a mixture of two purified low toxicity Quillaja saponin fractions (ISCOPREP 703) are able to upregulate both Th1-like and Th2-like immune responses. Thus, ovalbumin (OVA) iscoms induced higher levels of antigen-specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies and increased the production of both IFN-gamma and IL-4 compared with OVA administered without adjuvant. In contrast, OVA formulated in Al(OH)3 elicited IgG1 and IgE antibodies and primed spleen cells producing IL-4 and IL-10, suggesting the activation of primarily Th2-like cells. These findings underline that adjuvants are able to alter the character of immune responses and may be used to generate responses with desired properties.
Sjölander
A
A
Department of Virology, The National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.
van't Land
B
B
Lövgren Bengtsson
K
K
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D016882:ISCOMs / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000145:classification; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D012503:Saponins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015854:Up-Regulation
D016882:ISCOMs; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D012503:Saponins; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D010047:Ovalbumin