A novel adjuvant formulation induces robust Th1/Th17 memory and mucosal recall responses in Non-Human Primates.

After clean drinking water, vaccination is the most impactful global health intervention. However, development of new vaccines against difficult-to-target diseases is hampered by the lack of diverse adjuvants for human use. Of particular interest, none of the currently available adjuvants induce Th17 cells. Here, we develop and test an improved liposomal adjuvant, termed CAF10b, that incorporates a TLR-9 agonist. In a head-to-head study in non-human primates (NHPs), immunization with antigen adjuvanted with CAF10b induced significantly increased antibody and cellular immune responses compared to previous CAF adjuvants, already in clinical trials. This was not seen in the mouse model, demonstrating that adjuvant effects can be highly species specific. Importantly, intramuscular immunization of NHPs with CAF10b induced robust Th17 responses that were observed in circulation half a year after vaccination. Furthermore, subsequent instillation of unadjuvanted antigen into the skin and lungs of these memory animals led to significant recall responses including transient local lung inflammation observed by Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (PET-CT), elevated antibody titers, and expanded systemic and local Th1 and Th17 responses, including >20% antigen-specific T cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage. Overall, CAF10b demonstrated an adjuvant able to drive true memory antibody, Th1 and Th17 vaccine-responses across rodent and primate species, supporting its translational potential.