Chitosan/Calcium-Coated Ginsenoside Rb1 Phosphate Flower-like Microparticles as an Adjuvant to Enhance Immune Responses

Abstract

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is a highly contagious immunocompromising disorder that caused great economic losses in the poultry industry. The field-level control over IBD is primarily via vaccination. The development of a highly effective IBV vaccine has drawn great attention worldwide. Chitosan/Calcium Phosphate (CS/CaP) nanoparticle was a newly developed effective biological delivery system for drug and antigen. Ginsenoside Rb1 is one of the main bioactive components of ginseng root extract, which has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunological enhancement effects. Until now, the combined effect of CS/CaP and ginsenoside Rb1 on the chicken immune response had remained unknown. In this study, the GRb1 and IL-4 were encapsulated into Calcium phosphate and chitosan core structure nanoparticles microspheres (GRb1/IL-4@CS/CaP), and the effect of a newly developed delivery system on an infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) attenuated vaccine was further evaluated. The results demonstrated that GRb1/IL-4@CS/CaP treatment could induce the activation of chicken dendritic cells (DCs), with the upregulated expression of MHCII and CD80, and the increased production of IL-1β and TNF-α. Importantly, GRb1/IL-4@CS/CaP could trigger a higher level of IBDV-specific IgG and a higher ratio of IgG2a/IgG1 than the traditional adjuvant groups, promoting the production of cytokine, including IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-1α, and IL-1β, in chicken serum after 28 d and 42 d post-vaccine. Taken in all, GRb1/IL-4@CS/CaP could elicit prolonged vigorous immune responses for IBDV attenuated vaccine in chicken, which might provide an effective adjuvant system for avian vaccine development.