Chapter 26
Liposomal Dual Delivery of Both Polysaccharide and Protein
Antigens
Roozbeh Nayerhoda, Andrew Hill, and Blaine A. Pfeifer
Abstract
Pneumococcal disease is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, a colonizing microorganism characterized by
transitioning from a benign commensal to a virulent pathogen in the presence of suitable circumstances,
which then poses a serious infectious disease threat afflicting millions of people. Especially affected are the
young and elderly through outcomes that include pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, and otitis media.
Current prevention vaccine options on the market contain capsular polysaccharides conjugated to the
Diphtheria CRM197 protein (Pfizer) or are composed of only pneumococcal polysaccharides (Merck), and
in both cases, limitations prevent the generation of comprehensive disease protection. Through the use of a
liposomal carrier, we present an alternative methodology for producing a vaccine product via noncovalent
colocalization of both polysaccharide and protein classes of complementary pneumococcal disease
immunogens.
Key words Liposome, Encapsulation, Polysaccharide, Noncovalent, Vaccine, Pneumococcal disease
1 Introduction
Commensal bacterial pathogens cause disease outcomes including
pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, and otitis media [1–4]. As an
example, Streptococcus pneumoniae, a commensal bacterial microorganism capable of shifting to a virulent state, is considered a priority
pathogen posing great risk to human health, as recognized by the
World Health Organization [5–8].
The current standard of care for preventing pneumococcal
infections includes routine vaccination of infants with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), Prevnar 13. PCVs such as Prevnar
13 prevent pneumococcal colonization by introducing the surface
capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) associated with S. pneumoniae as
the vaccine antigen. However, unlike the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, Pneumovax 23, the polysaccharides in Prevnar
13 are covalently conjugated to the Diphtheria CRM197
immune-stimulating protein. By conjugating the CPSs to the
Blaine A. Pfeifer and Andrew Hill (eds.), Vaccine Delivery Technology: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology,
vol. 2183, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0795-4_26, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
477
Liposomal Dual Delivery of Both Polysaccharide and Protein
Antigens
Roozbeh Nayerhoda, Andrew Hill, and Blaine A. Pfeifer
Abstract
Pneumococcal disease is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, a colonizing microorganism characterized by
transitioning from a benign commensal to a virulent pathogen in the presence of suitable circumstances,
which then poses a serious infectious disease threat afflicting millions of people. Especially affected are the
young and elderly through outcomes that include pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, and otitis media.
Current prevention vaccine options on the market contain capsular polysaccharides conjugated to the
Diphtheria CRM197 protein (Pfizer) or are composed of only pneumococcal polysaccharides (Merck), and
in both cases, limitations prevent the generation of comprehensive disease protection. Through the use of a
liposomal carrier, we present an alternative methodology for producing a vaccine product via noncovalent
colocalization of both polysaccharide and protein classes of complementary pneumococcal disease
immunogens.
Key words Liposome, Encapsulation, Polysaccharide, Noncovalent, Vaccine, Pneumococcal disease
1 Introduction
Commensal bacterial pathogens cause disease outcomes including
pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, and otitis media [1–4]. As an
example, Streptococcus pneumoniae, a commensal bacterial microorganism capable of shifting to a virulent state, is considered a priority
pathogen posing great risk to human health, as recognized by the
World Health Organization [5–8].
The current standard of care for preventing pneumococcal
infections includes routine vaccination of infants with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), Prevnar 13. PCVs such as Prevnar
13 prevent pneumococcal colonization by introducing the surface
capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) associated with S. pneumoniae as
the vaccine antigen. However, unlike the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, Pneumovax 23, the polysaccharides in Prevnar
13 are covalently conjugated to the Diphtheria CRM197
immune-stimulating protein. By conjugating the CPSs to the
Blaine A. Pfeifer and Andrew Hill (eds.), Vaccine Delivery Technology: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology,
vol. 2183, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0795-4_26, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
477