Preparation of tubeimoside Ⅲ nanoemulsion and evaluation of its adjuvant effect

To prepare tubeimoside Ⅲ nanoemulsion (TBM Ⅲ-NE) and evaluate its adjuvant effect in vaccines.

TBMⅢ-NE was prepared using low-energy emulsification. Dynamic light scattering was used to characterize the particle size and polydispersity index of the obtained TBMⅢ-NE, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to observe the morphology. CCK-8 assay was utilized to determine the cytotoxicity of TBMⅢ-NE on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). The in vitro safety of TBMⅢ-NE was evaluated using a hemolysis assay. The ability of TBMⅢ-NE to promote the phagocytosis of antigens by DC2.4 cells was observed using confocal laser microscopy. After co-incubation of TBMⅢ-NE with BMDCs, the expression levels of CD40, CD86, MHC-Ⅰ, and CCR7 on the surface of BMDCs were detected using flow cytometry, and the levels of cytokines in the supernatant of BMDCs were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After female BALB/c mice were immunized with the SARS-CoV-2 antigen RBD in combination with TBM Ⅲ-NE, ELISA was conducted to determine the serum levels of specific IgG, IgG2a, and IgG1 antibodies. The number of specific IFN-γ-secreting cells in mouse splenocytes was detected using enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay.

The prepared blank nanoemulsion (BNE) and TBMⅢ-NE were in a particle size of 25.46 and 25.89 nm, and a polydispersity index of 0.214 and 0.125, respectively. TEM displayed that TBM Ⅲ-NE was in uniform sphere and well dispersed. When the TBMⅢ-NE adjuvant was diluted by 400-fold, the survival rate of BMDCs was approximately 86%. Compared with free TBM Ⅲ, the hemolytic toxicity of TBM Ⅲ-NE was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). TBMⅢ-NE promoted the phagocytosis of antigens by DC2.4 cells and significantly increased the expression of CCR7 on the surface of BMDCs (P < 0.05), indicating its potential to promote more dendritic cells to effectively migrate to lymph nodes. TBMⅢ-NE also promoted the expression of IL-6 and IL-1β in the supernatant of BMDCs (P < 0.05). When combined with RBD, TBMⅢ-NE significantly increased the levels of specific IgG, IgG2a, and IgG1 antibodies in mouse serum (P < 0.01) and promoted the secretion of specific IFN-γ in splenocytes (P < 0.01), indicating that TBM Ⅲ-NE could enhance specific cellular immune responses.

A stable and highly effective TBM Ⅲ-NE that can induce humoral and cellular immune responses is successfully prepared.