Chitosan as an Immunomodulating Adjuvant on T-Cells and Antigen-Presenting Cells in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection

Abstract

Herpes disease caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is an intractable condition. It is a major concern in public health. Our purpose of this study was to verify the function of chitosan as an adjuvant for immune regulation specifically under herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. Ahead of HSV infection, chitosan, heat inactivated green fluorescent protein expressing HSV (G-HSV), and a combination of chitosan and G-HSV were used to pretreat ICR mice followed by HSV-1 infection. Using flow cytometric analysis, the frequencies of T-cells, monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), and natural killer (NK) cells were analyzed by surface expression of CD4+, CD8+, CD14+, CD11c+, NK1.1+, and DX5+ cells. In HSV infected mice, chitosan treatment significantly increased the frequencies of CD4+ T-cells (33.6 ± 5.78%) compared to those in the control group (24.02 ± 12.47%, p = 0.05). The frequencies of DC and NK cells were also significantly different between chitosan treated mice and control mice. In addition, anti-HSV IgG antibody was downregulated in chitosan treated mice. These results suggest that chitosan is a potential modulator or immune stimulator as an adjuvant in HSV-1 infected mice.

Nanoformulations: A Valuable Tool in the Therapy of Viral Diseases Attacking Humans and Animals

“…−40.0 mV showed improved in vitro skin permeation and higher antiviral activity than the free drug against both the HSV-1 and the HSV-2 strains (Donalisio et al 2018). CS as an immunomodulating adjuvant on T cells and antigen-presenting cells in HSV-1 infected mice was reported by Choi et al (2016). In the dendritic cell-based DNA vaccine (pRSC-NLDC145.gD-IL21) carried by CS NPs, the expressed glycoprotein D in the formulation effectively targeted corneal dendritic cells and significantly alleviated the symptoms of both primary and recurrent HSV keratitis in mice via eliciting strong humoral and cellular immune response suggesting that such vaccine could be successfully used in Herpes simplex keratitis treatment (Tang et al 2018).…”

Needle-Free Immunization with Chitosan-Based Systems

“…Moreover, chitosan derivatives have shown their adjuvant activities such as activation of peritoneal macrophages, suppression of tumor growth and protection of the host against bacterial infection in mice and guinea-pigs [ 87 , 88 ]. Similarly, chitosan has significantly elevated the number of T cells, dendritic cells and natural killer cells in herpes simplex virus (HSV) infected mice [ 139 ]. Further, the adjuvant function of chitosan was compared with a standard vaccine adjuvant, cholera toxin (CT), in a study of vaccine delivery in mice infected with Helicobacter pylori [ 140 ].…”

HSV-Induced Systemic Inflammation as an Animal Model for Behçet’s Disease and Therapeutic Applications

“…Oral administration of pCIN-mIL-4 DNA vector in combination with chitosan has effectively delivered DNA vector to intestinal tissues of mice. Our recent study has shown that chitosan itself can be a potential immune modulator [ 48 ]. Oral administration of chitosan significantly up-regulated frequencies of DX5+ natural killer cell populations in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL).…”

“…In HSV-infected mice, chitosan increased the frequencies of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD11c+ dendritic cells in PBL. In addition, chitosan treatment down-regulated the levels of anti-HSV antibodies in the serum of HSV-infected mice, compared to the control group [ 48 ]. Thus, chitosan can be used as an adjuvant for gene delivery and an immune modulator by oral administration.…”