Induction of broad Th1 cellular immune responses and cytokines is crucial characteristics for vaccines against intracellular infections such as hepatitis C virus (HCV). Plants (especially oilseed tissues) and plant‐immunomodulators (like oil bodies) offer cost‐effective and scalable possibilities for the production of immunologically relevant and safe vaccine antigens and adjuvants, respectively. Herein, we provide data of the murine immunization by transgenic canola oilseed‐derived HCV core protein (HCVcp) soluble extract (TSE) and Escherichia coli‐ derived rHCVcp in combination with Canola oil bodies (oil) compared to that of the Freund’s (FA) adjuvant. Mice immunized by TSE+ oil developed both strong humeral (IgG) and Th1‐biased cellular responses, manifested by high levels of IFN‐γ and lower IgG1/IgG2a ratio and IL‐4 secretion. Results of the intracellular cytokine staining indicated that TSE+ oil immunization in mice triggered both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells to release IFN‐γ, while CD4⁺ cells were mostly triggered when FA was used. Analyses by qRT‐PCR indicated that a combination of rHCVcp/TSE with oil body induced high levels of IL‐10 cytokines compared to that of the FA adjuvant. These characteristics are important properties for the design of an HCV vaccine candidate and indicate the potential of Canola‐derived antigen and oil bodies in addressing these concerns.

中文翻译：

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芥花籽油和大肠杆菌衍生的丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）核心蛋白与油体佐剂结合后，在免疫小鼠中诱导了强大的Th1定向免疫反应。

广泛的Th1细胞免疫应答和细胞因子的诱导是针对细胞内感染（例如丙型肝炎病毒（HCV））的疫苗的关键特性。植物（特别是油料种子组织）和植物免疫调节剂（如油体）分别为生产具有免疫相关性和安全性的疫苗抗原和佐剂提供了经济高效且可扩展的可能性。在此，我们提供了转基因低芥酸菜籽油源HCV核心蛋白（HCVcp）可溶性提取物（TSE）和大肠杆菌对鼠类免疫的数据‐与弗氏（FA）佐剂相比，将rHCVcp与低芥酸菜子油体（油）组合使用。用TSE +油免疫的小鼠会产生强烈的肱骨（IgG）和Th1偏向的细胞反应，表现为高水平的IFN-γ和较低的IgG1 / IgG2a比以及IL-4分泌。细胞内细胞因子染色的结果表明，小鼠的TSE +油免疫可以触发CD4 ⁺和CD8 ⁺ T细胞释放IFN-γ，而CD4 ⁺使用FA时，大多数触发细胞。通过qRT-PCR进行的分析表明，与FA佐剂相比，rHCVcp / TSE与油体的组合可诱导高水平的IL-10细胞因子。这些特性是设计HCV候选疫苗的重要特性，并表明卡诺拉油源性抗原和油体在解决这些问题方面的潜力。