Metabolic stress boosts humoral responses in vivo independently of inflammasome and inflammatory reaction

J Immunol. 2011 Feb 15;186(4):2245-53. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1002333. Epub 2011 Jan 19.

Abstract

Adjuvant formulations boost humoral responses by acting through several, yet incompletely elucidated pathways. In this study, we show that oligomycin or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribonucleoside (AICAR) enhances Ab production when coinjected with T cell-dependent Ags. Oligomycin and AICAR lead to intracellular ATP reduction, suggesting that metabolic stress could be sensed by immune cells and leads to increased humoral responses. AICAR promotes IL-4 and IL-21 by naive Th cells but does not affect dendritic cell activation/maturation in vitro or in vivo. Accordingly, the adjuvant effect of AICAR or oligomycin does not require MyD88 or caspase-1 expression in vivo. Because AICAR is well tolerated in humans, this compound could represent a novel and safe adjuvant promoting humoral responses in vivo with a minimal reactogenicity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphate / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Adenosine Triphosphate / metabolism
  • Adjuvants, Immunologic / pharmacology
  • Aminoimidazole Carboxamide / analogs & derivatives
  • Aminoimidazole Carboxamide / pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Immunoglobulin G / biosynthesis*
  • Inflammasomes / metabolism*
  • Inflammasomes / physiology
  • Inflammation / chemically induced
  • Inflammation / immunology
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein
  • Oligomycins / pharmacology
  • Ribonucleotides / pharmacology
  • Stress, Physiological / immunology*
  • Up-Regulation / immunology

Substances

  • Adjuvants, Immunologic
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Inflammasomes
  • NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein
  • Nlrp3 protein, mouse
  • Oligomycins
  • Ribonucleotides
  • Aminoimidazole Carboxamide
  • Adenosine Triphosphate
  • AICA ribonucleotide