Maeyama Jun-Ichi, Isaka Masanori, Yasuda Yoko, Matano Keiko, Morokuma Kazunori, Ohkuma Kunio, Tochikubo Kunio, Yamamoto Saburo, Goto Norihisa
Department of Safety Research on Blood and Biological Products, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan.
Microbiol Immunol. 2004;48(6):457-63. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2004.tb03536.x.
Recombinant cholera toxin B subunit (rCTB) is a safe and potent mucosal adjuvant. To gain insight into the mechanism underlying the adjuvant effect of rCTB, the effects of rCTB on cell-mediated immune responses of mice and guinea pigs were examined after intranasal administration of Mycobacterium bovis -bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) with and without rCTB. Delayed-type hypersensitivity, for skin reactions in guinea pigs and for footpad swelling reactions in mice, to purified protein derivative (PPD) were enhanced by intranasal co-administration of BCG and rCTB, as compared to giving BCG alone to these animals. Moreover, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma production of spleen cells and antigen specific spleen cell proliferation, stimulated with PPD, were enhanced in the presence of rCTB. These results strongly suggest that rCTB enhances cellular as well as humoral immune responses.
