Development of a minimal saponin vaccine adjuvant based on QS-21 Journal Article


Authors: Fernandez- Tejada, A.; Chea, E. K.; George, C.; Pillarsetty, N.; Gardner, J. R.; Livingston, P. O.; Ragupathi, G.; Lewis, J. S.; Tan, D. S.; Gin, D. Y.
Article Title: Development of a minimal saponin vaccine adjuvant based on QS-21
Abstract: Adjuvants are materials added to vaccines to enhance the immunological response to an antigen. QS-21 is a natural product adjuvant under investigation in numerous vaccine clinical trials, but its use is constrained by scarcity, toxicity, instability and an enigmatic molecular mechanism of action. Herein we describe the development of a minimal QS-21 analogue that decouples adjuvant activity from toxicity and provides a powerful platform for mechanistic investigations. We found that the entire branched trisaccharide domain of QS-21 is dispensable for adjuvant activity and that the C4-aldehyde substituent, previously proposed to bind covalently to an unknown cellular target, is also not required. Biodistribution studies revealed that active adjuvants were retained preferentially at the injection site and the nearest draining lymph nodes compared with the attenuated variants. Overall, these studies have yielded critical insights into saponin structure-function relationships, provided practical synthetic access to non-toxic adjuvants, and established a platform for detailed mechanistic studies. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Journal Title: Nature Chemistry
Volume: 6
Issue: 7
ISSN: 1755-4330
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group  
Date Published: 2014-07-01
Start Page: 635
End Page: 643
Language: English
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1963
PROVIDER: scopus
PUBMED: 24950335
PMCID: PMC4215704
DOI/URL:
Notes: Export Date: 1 August 2014 -- CODEN: NCAHB -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Govindaswami Ragupathi
    144 Ragupathi
  2. Derek S Tan
    88 Tan
  3. David Y Gin
    41 Gin
  4. Jason S Lewis
    416 Lewis
  5. Jeffrey Gardner
    34 Gardner
  6. Constantine M George
    10 George
  7. Eric   Chea
    3 Chea