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Agonists of Toll-Like Receptors 3, 4, 7, and 9 Are Candidates for Use as Adjuvants in an Outer Membrane Vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B

Laboratory for Vaccine Research, The Netherlands Vaccine Institute, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 11-13, 3720 AL Bilthoven, The Netherlands,¹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands²

Received 20 June 2007/ Returned for modification 25 July 2007/ Accepted 18 September 2007

The bacterium Neisseria meningitidis is the causative agent of meningitis and sepsis. A generally effective vaccine against N. meningitidis serogroup B is not yet available, but outer membrane vesicle vaccines are in development. These vaccines contain lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The inclusion of N. meningitidis wild-type LPS in a vaccine is controversial because of its high toxicity. Therefore, the adjuvant activity of a panel of different Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists in combination with LPS-deficient meningococcal outer membrane complexes was compared after immunization of mice. The results demonstrate that TLR3, TLR4, TLR7, and TLR9 agonists enhance immune responses against LPS-deficient outer membrane complexes. Their adjuvant activity was characterized by higher levels of antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG2a, and IgG2b; a higher IgG2a/IgG1 ratio; lower total IgE levels; and most importantly, higher serum bactericidal antibody titers compared to LPS-deficient outer membrane complexes alone.

Published ahead of print on 1 October 2007.

Editor: R. P. Morrison