Preclinical safety evaluation of a bivalent inactivated EV71-CA16 vaccine in mice immunized intradermally.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common acute viral infectious disease that poses a serious threat to the life and health of young children. With the development of an effective inactivated EV71 vaccine, CA16 has become the main pathogen causing HFMD. Effective and safe vaccines against this disease are urgently needed. In our previous study, a bivalent inactivated vaccine was shown to have good immunogenicity and to induce neutralizing antibodies in mice and monkeys. Repeated administration toxicity is a critical safety test in the preclinical evaluation of vaccines. In this study, BALB/c mice were used to evaluate the toxicity of the bivalent vaccine after multiple intradermal administrations. Clinical observation was performed daily, and body weight, food intake, hematological characteristics, serum biochemical parameters, antinuclear antibodies, CD4+/CD8a+ T-cell proportions, bone marrow smear results and pathology results were recorded. The results showed that there was no significant change at the injection site and no adverse reactions related to the vaccine. The bivalent inactivated EV71-CA16 vaccine exhibits good safety in mice, and these results provide a sufficient basis for further clinical trials.

Preclinical evaluation of recombinant HFMD vaccine based on enterovirus 71 (EV71) virus-like particles (VLP): Immunogenicity, efficacy and toxicology.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major causative agents for hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in children. Currently, three inactivated EV71 vaccines have been approved by Chinese government. We previously demonstrated that recombinant EV71 virus-like particles (VLP) produced in Pichia pastoris can be produced at a high yield with a simple manufacturing process, and the candidate vaccine elicited protective humoral immune responses in mice. In present study, the nonclinical immunogenicity, efficacy and toxicity of the EV71 vaccine was comprehensively evaluated in rodents and non-human primates. The immunogenicity assessment showed that EV71 VLPs vaccine elicited high and persistent neutralizing antibody responses, which could be comparable with a licensed inactivated vaccine in animals. The immune sera of vaccinated mice also exhibited cross-neutralization activities to the heterologous subtypes of EV71. Both passive and maternal antigen specific antibodies protected the neonatal mice against the lethal EV71 challenge. Furthermore, nonclinical safety assessment of EV71 VLP vaccine showed no signs of systemic toxicity in animals. Therefore, the excellent immunogenicity, efficacy and toxicology data supported further evaluation of the VLP-based EV71 vaccine in humans.

A neonatal mouse model of central nervous system infections caused by Coxsackievirus B5.

As one of the key members of the coxsackievirus B group, coxsackievirus B5 (CV-B5) can cause many central nervous system diseases, such as viral encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, and acute flaccid paralysis. Notably, epidemiological data indicate that outbreaks of CV-B5-associated central nervous system (CNS) diseases have been reported worldwide throughout history. In this study, which was conducted to promote CV-B5 vaccine and anti-virus drug research, a 3-day-old BALB/c mouse model was established using a CV-B5 clinical isolate (CV-B5/JS417) as the challenge strain. Mice challenged with CV-B5/JS417 exhibited a series of neural clinical symptoms and death with necrosis of neuronal cells in the cerebral cortex and the entire spinal cord, hindlimb muscles, and cardiomyocytes. The viral load of each tissue at various post-challenge time points suggested that CV-B5 replicated in the small intestine and was subsequently transmitted to various organs via viremia; the virus potentially entered the brain through the spinal axons, causing neuronal cell necrosis. In addition, this mouse model was used to evaluate the protective effect of a CV-B5 vaccine. The results indicated that both the inactivated CV-B5 vaccine and anti-CVB5 serum significantly protected mice from a lethal infection of CV-B5/JS417 by producing neutralizing antibodies. In summary, the first CV-B5 neonatal mouse model has been established and can sustain CNS infections in a manner similar to that observed in humans. This model will be a useful tool for studies on pathogenesis, vaccines, and anti-viral drug evaluations.

Preclinical safety evaluation of recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 vector encoding human tumor necrosis factor receptor-immunoglobulin Fc fusion gene.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) 2 vector gene therapy offers promise for the healing of Rheumatoid arthritis. To support the clinical development of the candidate gene therapeutic product in China, a comprehensive preclinical safety assessment of rAAV2 encoding human TNF receptor-immunoglobulin Fc fusion gene (rAAV2/human TNFR:Fc), were conducted in 3 species of experimental animals. No abnormal findings were observed in mice following single intravenous administration with test article. Compared with the control group, no differences in mean body weight, food consumption in rats and monkeys following the repeated intraarticular administration with rAAV2/human TNFR:Fc. There were also no significant adverse effects due to treatment noted by clinical chemistry, hematology and pathology assessments. After intraarticular administration with rAAV2/human TNFR:Fc, the vector DNA initially distributed to spleen, lymph nodes, and joint synovium. The vector DNA cleared rapidly as it could be detected mainly at the site of injection by 91 d post-administration (182 d for monkey). Taken together, localized delivery of rAAV2/human TNFR:Fc showed no significant toxicity in mice, rats, and monkeys, which support the planned clinical evaluation of this product.

Hep-2 cell based indirect immunofluorescence assay for antinuclear antibodies as a potential diagnosis of drug-induced autoimmunity in nonclinical toxicity testing.

Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are important biomarkers in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases in humans; however, the diagnostic performance of ANA in nonclinical safety studies are not well understood. Here, we studied the use of ANAs as potential nonclinical biomarkers for drug-induced autoimmunity (DIA) using a Hep-2 based indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Initially, MRL-fas(lpr)/J mice and HgCl2-treated rats were used as SLE-positive models. Serum samples obtained from 94 normal mice or 204 normal rats aged one to four months served as the negative control. The IFA effectively distinguished ANAs-positive samples in both species with a cut-off titer of 1:100. Brown Norway rats were treated with 450 mg/kg D-penicillamine for 30 consecutive days. ANAs were generated and corresponded with DIA development. Human Hep-2 cells, mice Neuro 2A cells, and Chinese Hamster Lung cells served as antigen from different species, which were found cross-reactive with ANA-positive serum samples from mice, rats, and humans without any differences in diagnosis. This methodology showed no species-specificity for ANA detection. Furthermore, we found approximately 20 percentage of the mice aged seven to eight months demonstrated age-related ANAs, which was consistent with humans. Overall, our findings demonstrated the use of ANA detection using IFA in the nonclinical diagnosis of murine drug-induced autoimmunity, and age-related ANAs should be considered when aged animals are used.

Studies on the anti-inflammatory effect and its mechanisms of sophoridine.

This work is to study the anti-inflammatory effect and its mechanisms of sophoridine in vitro and in vivo. For this aim, the influences of sophoridine on several inflammatory mediators were investigated. Excessive inflammatory response in vitro model was developed by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to stimulate the mouse peritoneal macrophages and HL-60 cells to produce IL-6 and IL-8. Carrageenin-induced mouse paw edema model was used as inflammatory response in vivo model. MTT method, ultraviolet spectrophotometric method, and radioimmunoassay were used to measure the changes of TNF α , IL-6, PGE2, and IL-8 in in vitro cell culture supernatant or in the local inflammatory exudates. The results showed that sophoridine inhibited the production of IL-8 in in vitro cell culture supernatant and inhibited the production of TNF α , PGE2, and IL-8 in the local inflammatory exudates but had no significant effects on the production of IL-6 in vitro and in vivo. It is demonstrated that sophoridine's anti-inflammatory effect was due to its ability to inhibit the production of cytokine and inflammatory mediators.

Modulation of immune and inflammatory responses on experimental arthritis following intraarticular gene transfer of tumor necrosis factor receptor-immunoglobulin Fc.

In spite of popularity of TNF-α antagonist in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), their modes of action are not fully understood. In the present study, we further explore the effects of gene transfer route of a TNF-α antagonist on arthritis. Recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 (rAAV2) encoding rat TNF receptor-immunoglobulin Fc (ratTNFR:Fc) fusion gene was injected intraarticularly in rats with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). As revealed by examination of the clinical, radiographical, and histological aspects, local gene transfer of rAAV2/ratTNFR:Fc ameliorated the arthritis symptoms and inhibited the development of CIA. Compared with the vector control group, expressions of TNF-α, IL-1, and IFN-γ were down-regulated, and IL-10 release was up-regulated in the rAAV2/ratTNFR:Fc-treated group. Furthermore, administration of rAAV2/ratTNFR:Fc ameliorated the enlargement of spleen and significantly reduced spleen cell proliferation. Low level of nitric oxide (NO) in spleen was observed in CIA rats following the delivery of rAAV2/ratTNFR:Fc when compared to the vector control group. This study provides the evidence that intraarticular delivery of rAAV2/ratTNFR:Fc suppress the progression of arthritis by restoring the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and inhibiting spleen cell proliferation. Our findings also implicate that the down-regulation of NO release on arthritis is involved in the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of TNF-α antagonist.

A safety study of a B-class CpG ODN in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG ODNs) are potent immune activators and are being tested as anti-tumor, antimicrobial agents and as adjuvants in vaccines. Little has been reported, however, about the systematic and comprehensive safety evaluation on repeated CpG ODN administration. To investigate the safety profile of a newly developed CpG ODN, CpG 684, we conducted a 28-day repeated dose toxicity study in rats, at dose levels of 5, 20 and 150 µg CpG 684 per rat. No abnormalities in clinical observations, growth, urinalysis and bone marrow cell counts were found in CpG 684 treated rats. CpG 684 was proved biologically active, capable of up-regulating the expressions of CD40 and CD86 molecules. The monocyte numbers were increased at the dose levels of 20 and 150 µg per rat. The spleen weights were increased in female rats at the dose level of 150 µg per rat. Microscopically, 5, 20 and 150 µg per rat CpG 684 caused local inflammatory cell infiltration and hyperplasia of fibrous tissue at injection sites; the treatment of 5 and 150 µg per rat CpG 684 induced enhanced inflammatory reaction in inguinal lymphoid tissue, and the dose of 150 µg per rat induced cell hyperplasia in white pulp of spleen and white pulp expansion. CpG 684 at 150 µg per rat led to decreases in peripheral lymphocyte, serum globulin, glucose, alkaline phosphatase and K+ levels in female rats, and induced the decrease in serum albumin and total protein in rats of both sexes. The data from this study will provide an important reference for developing CpG 684 as an adjuvant for vaccines of human use.

[Tissue distribution of arsenic of liushen pills and realgar].

This study is to report the tissue distribution of arsenic after giving different doses of realgar and Liushen pills to Beagle dogs, in order to provide basis for the safety evaluation of Liushen pills. ICP-MS was used to measure arsenic concentration, and HPLC-ICP-MS was used to analyze arsenic speciation. The concentration of total arsenic and As(III) + DMA (arsenite + dimethylarsenic acid) increased with dosing of realgar. Total arsenic concentration in most tissues and As(III) + DMA concentration in all tissues of Liushen pills group are lower than that of realgar group, but AsB concentration in liver, spleen and kidney of Liushen pills group increased. The concentration of total arsenic showed a dose-dependent manner with dosage administered. It was indicated that components in Liushen pills can reduce solubility of arsenic in realgar, which may decrease toxicity of realgar.