High- and low-molecular-weight chitosan act as adjuvants during single-dose influenza A virus protein vaccination through distinct mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: The investigation of new adjuvants is essential for the development of efficacious vaccines. Chitosan (CS), a derivative of chitin, has been shown to act as an adjuvant, improving vaccine-induced immune responses. However, the effect of CS molecular weight (MW) on this adjuvanticity has not been investigated, despite MW having been shown to impact CS biological properties. Here, two MW variants of CS were investigated for their ability to enhance vaccine-elicited immune responses in vitro and in vivo, using a single-dose influenza A virus (IAV) protein vaccine model. Both low-molecular-weight (LMW) and high-molecular-weight (HMW) CS-induced interferon regulatory factor pathway signaling, antigen-presenting cell activation, and cytokine messenger RNA (mRNA) production, with LMW inducing hig

SUBMITTER: Lampe AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7897297 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature