IPB chemists led by Bernhard Westermann have filed a patent on new adjuvants, in close collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. Adjuvants are applied as boosters together with different vaccines to induce a stronger immune response. Currently, only a few substances, such as aluminum or monophosphoryl-lipid A, are approved as adjuvants for human vaccines. The search for new, effective vaccine adjuvants is therefore high on the agenda of actual and upcoming challenges.
The adjuvants developed at IPB are phytosphingosine derivatives that bind to receptors of antigen-presenting cells and, in a second step, initiate the secretion of immunostimulatory cytokines. This enhances the cellular immune response, which plays a role in eliminating pathogens and tumor cells as well as in suppressing autoreactive immune cells. The new phytosphingosine derivatives are modifications of the currently used immunostimulant alpha-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer; KRN 7000) - a synthetic glycolipid derived from galactosylceramides originally isolated from the marine sponge Agelas mauritianus.
The newly synthesized compounds elicit significantly enhanced immune cell activation compared to α-GalCer. They induce proliferation of various antigen-specific B cells and also T cells. The Halle scientists together with the HZI were able to demonstrate these immunostimulatory effects in cell cultures. The new adjuvants were developed in cationic and in anionic form, so that an application in liposomal vehicles as well as in virus particles will be possible. The patent exposé can be found here.