The effectiveness of current influenza vaccines is considered suboptimal, and 1 way to improve the vaccines is using adjuvants. However, the current pool of adjuvants used in influenza vaccination is limited due to safety concerns. Aloe vera, or aloe, has been shown to have immunomodulatory functions and to be safe for oral intake. In this study, we explored the potential of orally administered processed Aloe vera gel (PAG) as an adjuvant for influenza vaccines in C57BL/6 mice. We first evaluated its adjuvanticity with a split-type pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) Ag by subjecting the mice to lethal homologous influenza challenge. Oral PAG administration with the pH1N1 Ag increased survival rates in mice to levels similar to those of alum and MF59, which are currently used as adjuvants in influenza vaccine formulations. Similarly, oral PAG administration improved the survival of mice immunized with a commercial trivalent influenza vaccine against lethal homologous and heterologous virus challenge. PAG also increased hemagglutination inhibition and virus neutralization Ab titers against homologous and heterologous influenza strains following immunization with the split-type pH1N1 Ag or the commercial trivalent vaccine. Therefore, this study demonstrates that PAG may potentially be used as an adjuvant for influenza vaccines.

中文翻译：

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加工过的芦荟凝胶对小鼠流感疫苗的佐剂性

当前流感疫苗的有效性被认为是次优的，改进疫苗的一种方法是使用佐剂。然而，由于安全问题，目前用于流感疫苗接种的佐剂池有限。芦荟或芦荟已被证明具有免疫调节功能，可安全口服。在这项研究中，我们探讨了口服加工芦荟凝胶 (PAG) 作为 C57BL/6 小鼠流感疫苗佐剂的潜力。我们首先通过对小鼠进行致命的同源流感攻击来评估其对分裂型大流行 H1N1 (pH1N1) Ag 的佐剂性。使用 pH1N1 Ag 口服 PAG 可将小鼠的存活率提高到与明矾和 MF59 相似的水平，后者目前用作流感疫苗制剂中的佐剂。相似地，口服 PAG 提高了用商业三价流感疫苗免疫的小鼠的存活率，以抵抗致命的同源和异源病毒攻击。在用分裂型 pH1N1 Ag 或商业三价疫苗免疫后，PAG 还增加了针对同源和异源流感毒株的血凝抑制和病毒中和抗体滴度。因此，这项研究表明 PAG 可能用作流感疫苗的佐剂。在用分裂型 pH1N1 Ag 或商业三价疫苗免疫后，PAG 还增加了针对同源和异源流感毒株的血凝抑制和病毒中和抗体滴度。因此，这项研究表明 PAG 可能用作流感疫苗的佐剂。在用分裂型 pH1N1 Ag 或商业三价疫苗免疫后，PAG 还增加了针对同源和异源流感毒株的血凝抑制和病毒中和抗体滴度。因此，该研究表明 PAG 可能用作流感疫苗的佐剂。