title: The adjuvant effect of levamisole on killed viral vaccines.
abstract: To explore adjuvants that are capable of promoting Th1-biased immune response, we investigated the usefulness of levamisole (LMS) as one such adjuvant for two different preparations of killed viral vaccines, derived from the foot mouth disease virus (FMDV) or the porcine respiratory reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV) and tested respectively in BALB/c or C57 BL/6 mice. The results showed that LMS induced different types of immune responses in the host, depending on its dosage. While a high level of serum IgG was induced by using LMS at 2%, the most robust T cell proliferation was induced with LMS at 0.5%. The Th1 and Th2 cytokine profiles, which tracked well with the antibody and T cell responses, were similarly influenced by the dose of LMS. Moreover, the enhanced T cell response correlated with increased expression of MHC and co-stimulatory molecules and decreased expression of the suppressors of cytokine signaling molecules (SOCS1 and SOCS3) in the spleen, suggesting that it is mediated by the antigen presentation, co-stimulator signaling, and cytokine production pathways. These results establish that LMS can be used to induce Th1-biased immune responses when combined with killed-virus-based antiviral vaccines and that such adjuvant effect depends on the optimal LMS dosage.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Agro-Biotechnology, Department of Physiology, College of Biology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China.
authors.forename: Youmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Huali
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Guoxing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Qifa
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Jiangmei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Aoshuang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D029544:Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007978:Levamisole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D019318:Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome / Q000276:immunology; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000071222:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 Protein; D000071223:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C491590:Socs1 protein, mouse; C491411:Socs3 protein, mouse; D000071222:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 Protein; D000071223:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins; D014765:Viral Vaccines; D007978:Levamisole