Increased Protection against Pneumococcal Disease by Mucosal Administration of Conjugate Vaccine plus Interleukin-12

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory tract infections, its main entry route being the nasal mucosa. The recent development of pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccines has led to a dramatic improvement in protection against invasive disease in infants and children, but these vaccines have been found to be only 50 to 60% protective against bacterial carriage. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of intranasal (i.n.) conjugate vaccine delivery using interleukin-12 (IL-12) as a mucosal adjuvant. Immunized mice treated with IL-12 demonstrated increased expression of lung and splenic gamma interferon and IL-10 mRNAs; high levels of antibody, particularly serum immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) and respiratory IgA; and significantly increased opsonic activity. After intraperitoneal challenge with type 3 pneumococci, there was 75% survival of i.n. vaccinated mice compared to 0% survival of unvaccinated mice. In addition, after i.n. challenge with type 14 pneumococci, vaccinated mice possessed fewer bacterial colonies in the upper respiratory tract than unvaccinated mice. However, no significant difference in type 14 carriage was observed between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups following intramuscular vaccination, the typical route of vaccination in humans. Using mice with a genetic disruption in IgA expression, it was found that pneumococcus-specific IgA played a significant role in the clearance of bacteria from the upper respiratory tract. We conclude that i.n vaccination in the presence of IL-12 is able to enhance systemic and mucosal immune responses to pneumococci and efficiently protect against both invasive infection and bacterial carriage.