The two component adjuvant IC31® potentiates the protective immunity induced by a dengue 2 recombinant fusion protein in mice

Here we evaluated the suitability of the synthetic adjuvant IC31 (R) to potentiate the protective capacity of PD5 protein (domain III of the envelope protein of dengue 2 virus fused to the carrier protein P64k). Unlike Alum, PD5 mixed with IC31 (R) induced complete protection against virus challenge in mice and increased IFN-gamma secretion after in vitro re-stimulation. The induced antibody response was highly specific to the homologous serotype and showed both IgG1 and IgG2a subtypes. IC31 (R) is a promising adjuvant for PD5 recombinant protein based vaccination against dengue. Future work should address the suitability of PD5/IC31 (R) formulations in non-human primate models. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.