METHODS FOR PROVIDING ADJUVANTED VIROSOMES AND ADJUVANTED VIROSOMES OBTAINABLE THEREBY

Abstract

The invention relates to the fields of immunology and vaccinology. Provided is a method for preparing adjuvanted virosomes, comprising the steps of: (i) providing an aqueous composition of non-adjuvanted virosomes comprising a membrane fusion protein; (ii) dissolving an amphiphilic adjuvant in a pharmaceutically acceptable non-aqueous solvent which can form a homogeneous mixture with water; and (iii) diluting said adjuvant solution in said aqueous virosome composition to induce insertion of adjuvant in the outer leaflet of the virosomal membrane while preserving membrane fusion activity of the virosomes. Also provided are adjuvanted virosomes obtainable by said method, and vaccines comprising the virosomes.

Claims

1. A method for preparing adjuvanted virosomes, comprising the steps of: (i) providing an aqueous composition of non-adjuvanted virosomes comprising a membrane fusion protein; (ii) dissolving an amphiphilic adjuvant in a pharmaceutically acceptable non-aqueous solvent which can form a homogeneous mixture with water; and (iii) diluting said adjuvant solution in said aqueous virosome composition to induce insertion of adjuvant in the outer leaflet of the virosomal membrane while preserving membrane fusion activity of the virosomes.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said non-aqueous adjuvant solvent has a solubility in water of at least 5 g/100 mL at 20 C., preferably at least 10 g/ 100 mL, more preferably at least 20 g/100 mL.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said adjuvant solvent is a water miscible solvent.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said adjuvant solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetonitrile, 2-butanol, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, formic acid, methanol, ethanol, DMSO, DMF, n-propanol, isopropanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol and THF, or any mixture thereof.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the adjuvant solvent is DMSO or DMF.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the membrane fusion protein is a viral fusion protein, preferably selected from the group consisting of the HIV gp 120/gp41 proteins, the paramyxovirus F proteins and the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein, the gp64 protein of baculovirus, the E proteins of Semliki Forest virus, and fusion active variants thereof.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the membrane fusion protein is an RSV F protein or fusion active variant.

8. Method according to claim 1, comprising preparing virosomes by the functional reconstitution of an enveloped virus, preferably a virus selected from the group consisting of Retroviridae; rubellavirus; paramyxoviridae; Flaviviridae; Herpesviridae; Bunyaviridae; Arenaviridae; Hantaviridae; Baculoviridae; Coronaviridae; Papovaviridae; Rhabdoviridae; Alphaviridae, Arteriviridae, Filoviridae and Poxviridae.

9. Method according to claim 8, wherein said functional reconstitution comprises contacting an enveloped virus with a solution containing a short-chain phospholipid or a detergent allowing solubilisation of the viral envelope of said virus further comprising removing short-chain phospholipid or detergent from said solution allowing formation of a functionally reconstituted viral envelope, preferably wherein said phospholipid or detergent is removed by dialysis, filtration, or absorption onto hydrophobic beads.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein said short-chain phospholipid has a critical micelle concentration (cmc) of larger than 0.1 mM, preferably larger than 0.3 mM, more preferably larger than 1 mM.

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein said phospholipid is a phosphatidylcholine, preferably 1,2-diheptanoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine or 1,2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine.

12. Method according to claim 9, wherein the detergent is octa-ethylene-glycol mono N dodecyl ether.

13. Method according to claim 9, wherein the hydrophobic beads are composed of polystyrene divinylbenzene.

14. Method according to claim 1, wherein said amphiphilic adjuvant is a compound recognized by a Toll-like receptor (TLR), preferably selected from the group consisting of mono-phosphoryl lipid A and derivatives thereof and lipopeptide.

15. Method according to claim 1, wherein said amphiphilic adjuvant is a glycolipid, preferably selected from the group consisting of a-galactosylceramide, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, derivates of endotoxic lipopolysaccharides and derivatives thereof.

16. Method according to claim 1, wherein said amphiphilic adjuvant is an amphiphilic peptide, preferably comprising an amino acid sequence derived from Jagged-1 or S. aureus protein A having adjuvant activity.

17. Method according to claim 1, wherein the virosome comprises at least one further antigen, preferably a tumor-antigen or an antigen originating from a virus, a parasite, a fungus or a bacterium.

18. Method according to claim 17, wherein the antigen is a viral antigen, preferably derived from influenza virus or RSV.

19. Method according to claim 17, wherein the antigen is an integral membrane protein or an antigen attached to a membrane anchoring moiety.

20. Method according to claim 19, wherein the membrane anchoring moiety is a transmembrane domain or membrane-anchoring amino acid sequence.

21. Method according to claim 19, wherein the membrane anchoring moiety is a lipid moiety, preferably a phospholipid or acyl chain.

22. An adjuvanted virosome obtainable by a method according to claim 1.

23. An adjuvanted virosome characterized in that the adjuvant is an amphiphilic adjuvant which is essentially confined to the outer leaflet of the virosomal membrane.

24. Adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic adjuvant is a compound recognized by a Toll-like receptor (TLR), preferably selected from the group consisting of mono-phosphoryl lipid A and derivatives thereof and lipopeptide.

25. Adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23, comprises at least one further antigen, preferably a tumor-antigen or an antigen originating from a virus, a parasite, a fungus or a bacterium.

26. Adjuvanted virosome according to claim 25, wherein the antigen is a viral antigen, preferably derived from influenza virus or RSV.

27. Adjuvanted virosome according to claim 25, wherein the antigen is an integral membrane protein or an antigen attached to a membrane anchoring moiety, preferably wherein the membrane anchoring moiety is a transmembrane domain, a membrane-anchoring amino acid sequence or a lipid moiety.

28. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient.

29. An immunogenic composition comprising an adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23.

30. Composition according to claim 28, which is formulated for intranasal delivery, parental delivery or oral administration.

31. An adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23 for use as medicament.

32. Adjuvanted virosome according to claim 23 for use in a method of prophylaxis or treatment of cancer or an infectious disease.

33. Method for optimizing the adjuvant/antigen ratio of a virosome-based vaccine, comprising preparing at least two preparations comprising adjuvanted virosomes according to claim 23 and/or using a method for preparing adjuvanted virosomes, comprising the steps of: (i) providing an aqueous composition of non-adjuvanted virosomes comprising a membrane fusion protein; (ii) dissolving an amphiphilic adjuvant in a pharmaceutically acceptable non-aqueous solvent which can form a homogeneous mixture with water; and (iii) diluting said adjuvant solution in said aqueous virosome composition to induce insertion of adjuvant in the outer leaflet of the virosomal membrane while preserving membrane fusion activity of the virosomes, each preparation having a distinct adjuvant/antigen ratio, and evaluating each preparation in a test subject for its efficacy in inducing an immune response.

34. A method for immunizing a subject against cancer or a viral disease, comprising administering to the subject an immunologically effective amount of the immunogenic composition of claim 29 to produce an immune response.

35. Method according to claim 34, wherein said viral disease is caused by RSV, influenza virus, herpes virus, or cytomegalovirus.

Description

LEGENDS TO THE FIGURES

[0074] FIG. 1: Equilibrium density gradient analysis of post-inserted adjuvant 3-D-PHAD in RSV virosomes. Panel A shows the protein, phosphate (from both phospholipids and 3-D-PHAD), and density in fractions numbered 1.1, 1.2 consecutively through 1.11 from bottom to top; Panel B shows a similar gradient of only 3-D-PHAD dissolved in DMSO.

[0075] FIG. 2: TLC plate analysis of samples from the gradient of FIG. 1A. lane 1: RSV viral lipid extract; lane 2: the PC and PE that were used; lane 3: 3D-PHAD adjuvant; lanes 4-8: fractions 1.5-1.9 of the gradient. Spots were circled after ethanol stain and the plate was developed with phosphomolybdate reagent.

[0076] FIG. 3: Equilibrium density gradient analysis of the post-insertion of the adjuvant 3-D-PHAD in RSV virosomes from a solution in DMF. The fractions are numbered from bottom to top. Analysis as in FIG. 1.

[0077] FIG. 4: Equilibrium density gradient analysis of the post-insertion of the adjuvant MPLA in RSV virosomes from a solution in DMSO. The fractions are numbered from bottom to top. Analysis as in FIG. 1.

[0078] FIG. 5: Equilibrium density gradient analysis of the post-insertion of the lipopeptide adjuvant in RSV virosomes from a solution in DMSO. The fractions are numbered from bottom to top. Analysis as in FIG. 1.

[0079] FIG. 6: Silver-stained SDS-PAGE gel of samples from the fractions of the gradient in FIG. 5. The viral membrane proteins F (F1 subunit) and G are indicated. The lipopeptide is marked with an arrow.

[0080] FIG. 7: Anti-RSV IgG as determined by ELISA. Logarithmic (base 10) representation of the geometric mean titer, the line denoting the average.

[0081] FIG. 8: Ex-vivo neutralizing antibodies. Logarithmic (base 2) representation of the titer, the line denoting the average.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Incorporation of the Adjuvant MPL by Post-Insertion into RSV Virosomes

[0082] Virosomes were prepared from purified respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), strain A2, as described in the art. Briefly, the virus was solubilized in 50 mM di-caproylphosphatidylcholine (DCPC) for 30 min on ice, and the viral nucleocapsids were removed by centrifugation at 120 000 g for 30 min. The supernatant was collected and filtered through an 0.1 m filter. A thin lipid film was prepared from a mixture of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (source: chicken egg, respectively transphosphatidylated from chicken egg) at a 2:1 molar ratio by evaporation of the solvent (chloroform/methanol 2:1 v/v). The viral membrane supernatant (2.35 ml) was added to the thin lipid film at a ratio of 1 mg of protein per 850 nmol of phospholipid. The mixture was filtered through an 0.2 m filter and dialyzed in a slide-a-lyzer dialysis cassette, sterilized by gamma irradiation, 10 kDa molecular weight cut-off, for 48 hours against 7 changes of 2 liters of HNE buffer, at 4 C. The virosomes were harvested and the phospholipid concentration in the virosomes was measured.

[0083] Stock solutions of the synthetic mono-phosphoryl lipid A analogue 3-D-PHAD (disclosed in WO2013/155448), an amphiphilic adjuvant, in DMSO were prepared. To 975 l of virosomes, containing 850 nmol of phospholipids, 25 l of DMSO solution containing 153 nmol of 3-D-PHAD was rapidly added while agitating the sample on a vortex mixer. After overnight storage at 4 C., the density of the virosomes was analyzed by equilibrium density gradient centrifugation loaded on 10-60% sucrose gradients, which were spun for 66 hrs in a Sorvall All 650 rotor at 50 krpm. As a control, 153 nmol of 3 D-P-HAD alone was also run on a similar gradient. Samples from the gradient were analyzed for sucrose concentration by refractometry, giving a measure of density, phosphate (both lipid and 3-D-PHAD), and protein. As shown in FIG. 1, the virosomes formed a single band around 1.054-1.0759 g/ml, containing all phosphate, while free 3-D-PHAD banded around 1.12 g/ml. Therefore, most of the 3 D PHAD added to the virosomes from a DMSO solution was incorporated into the virosomes.

[0084] Fractions of the gradient were extracted with chloroform/methanol according to Folch, and analyzed by thin layer chromatography, on a Merck HP TLC 60 late. The plates were run in chloroform:methanol:water 100:75:15 (v/v). Lipids and 3 DPHAD were visualized by consecutive ethanol, iodine, ninhydrin and phosphomolybdate stain. As a control, a Folch extract of RSV viral lipids, the PC and PE used to prepare the virosomes, and free 3 DPHAD were also ran on the same plate. As shown in FIG. 2, 3-D-PHAD was found to present in the virosome-containing fractions.

Example 2

Post-Insertion of Several Adjuvants using Several Solvents into RSV Virosomes

[0085] Virosomes were prepared from purified RSV virus, strain A2, as described in example 1. The virosomes were harvested and the phospholipid concentration in the virosomes was measured.

[0086] Stock solutions of several adjuvants in several solvents were prepared: [0087] 1) 100 nmol 3-D-PHAD in 50 l DMF [0088] 2) 100 nmol mono-phosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) in 50 l DMSO [0089] 3) 0.3 mg N-palmitoyl-S-2,3(bispalmitoyloxy)-propyl-cysteinyl-seryl-(lysil)3-lysine (lipopeptide) in 50 l DMSO

[0090] The above adjuvant solutions were added to four tubes with 950 l of virosomes each, containing 850 nmol of phospholipids, with rapid mixing on a vortex. After overnight storage at 4 C., the density of the virosomes was analyzed by equilibrium density gradient centrifugation on 10-60% sucrose gradients, which were spun for 66 hrs in a Sorvall AH 650 rotor at 120 000 g. Samples from the gradient were analyzed for density, phosphate (both lipid and 3 DPHAD), and protein. As shown in FIGS. 3-5, on all gradients there was but a single peak of phosphate (from phospholipids, 3-D-PHAD or MPLA), also containing protein, whereas the lipopeptide was found to be present in fraction 4-7, peaking at fraction 6 (containing the highest concentration of virosomes) by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis (FIG. 7). This demonstrates that, the adjuvant was incorporated in the virosomes in all cases. While the lipopeptide-containing virosomes have a peak density around 1.1 g/ml, the other virosomes banded at around 1.04-1.06 g/ml. Thus, different adjuvants added to the virosomes affect the density of the virosomes differently, providing further proof of their incorporation.

Example 3

Immunization of Mice with RSV Virosomes Containing 3-D-PHAD Incorporated Either During or After Virosome Formation

[0091] Two different virosome preparations were prepared from purified respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), strain A2. Briefly, the virus was solubilized in 50 mM di-caproylphosphatidylcholine (DCPC) for 30 min on ice, and the viral nucleocapsids were removed by centrifugation at 120 000 g for 30 min. The supernatant was collected and filtered through an 0.1 m filter. Two thin lipid films were prepared, one (test sample) from a mixture of PC and PE at a 2:1 ratio by evaporation of the solvent (chloroform/methanol 2:1 (v/v)); the other (comparative example), additionally contained 3-D-PHAD

[0092] The viral membrane supernatant was added to the thin lipid film at a ratio of 1 mg of protein per 850 nmol of phospholipid (test sample) or 850 of phospholipid plus 200 nmol 3-D-DPHAD (comparative example). The mixture was filtered through an 0.2 m filter and dialyzed in a slide-a-lyzer dialysis cassette, sterilized by gamma irradiation, 10 kDa molecular weight cut-off, for 48 hours against 7 changes of 2 liters of HNE buffer, at 4 C. The virosomes were harvested and the phospholipid concentration in the virosomes was measured. To 975 l of the aqueous virosome composition containing 850 nmol of phospholipids and no 3-D-PHAD 25 l of DMSO solution containing 153 nmol of 3-D-PHAD was rapidly added while agitating the sample on a vortex mixer. Therefore, the comparative virosome preparation contained 200 nmol of 3-D-PHAD incorporated during virosome formation (incorporated), while the test virosome preparation contained 100 nmol of 3-D-PHAD added from solvent after virosome formation (post-inserted).

[0093] Three groups of ten Balb/C mice each were immunized at day 1 and 15 with either vehicle control (HNE buffer, 145 mM NaCl, 5 mM HEPES,1 mM EDTA, pH 7.4), the incorporated virosome preparation at 5 g of viral protein and 1g of 3-D-PHAD per mouse per injection, or the post-inserted virosome preparation at 5 g of viral protein and 0.5 g of 3-D-PHAD per mouse per injection.

[0094] IgG titers against viral proteins were determined on day 28, as described before ((Kamphuis, T. et al. Plos One 2012;7 (5):e36812). As shown in FIG. 7, the IgG titers induced by the 3-D-PHAD post-inserted virosomes were equivalent to those of the incorporated 3-D-PHAD virosomes, while the latter virosomes contained twice the amount of adjuvant.

[0095] Neutralizing antibody titers against live virus were determined ex-vivo on day 28, as described before (Kamphuis, T. et al. Plos One 2012;7 (5):e36812). As shown in FIG. 8, the IgG titers induced by the 3-D-PHAD post-inserted virosomes were at least equivalent to those of the incorporated 3-D-PHAD virosomes, while the latter virosomes contained twice the amount 3-D-PHAD.