Astragaloside VII (AST-VII), a major cycloartane saponin isolated from Turkish Astragalus species, turned out to be one of the most active metabolites demonstrating Th1/Th2 balanced immune response. As Quillaja saponins are extensively used in adjuvant systems, this study made an attempt to improve AST-VII based adjuvant systems by using different immunostimulatory/delivery agents (monophosphoryllipid A (MPL), Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) and squalene) and to induce cellular and humoral immune response against a viral vaccine. For this purpose, Newcastle Disease vaccine (NDV) was chosen as a model vaccine. Swiss albino mice were immunized subcutaneously with LaSota vaccines in the presence/absence of AST-VII or developed adjuvant systems. AST-VII administration both in live/inactivated LaSota vaccines induced neutralizing and NDV specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2b antibodies response as well as IL-2 and IL-4 production. APS based delivery systems enhanced the production of neutralizing antibody and the minor augmentation of IFN-γ and IL-2 levels. Squalene emulsion (SE) alone or combined with AST-VII were effective in NDV restimulated splenocyte proliferation. As a conclusion, AST-VII and AST-VII containing adjuvant systems demonstrated Th1/Th2 balanced antibody and cellular immune responses in NDV vaccines. Thus, these systems could be developed as vaccine adjuvants in viral vaccines as alternative to saponin-based adjuvants.

黄芪甲苷 VII (AST-VII) 是一种从土耳其黄芪属植物中分离出来的主要环阿尔烷皂苷，被证明是表现出 Th1/Th2 平衡免疫反应的最活跃的代谢物之一。由于Quillaja皂苷广泛用于佐剂系统，本研究尝试通过使用不同的免疫刺激剂/递送剂（单磷酰脂 A (MPL)、黄芪）来改进基于 AST-VII 的佐剂系统多糖（APS）和角鲨烯）并诱导针对病毒疫苗的细胞和体液免疫反应。为此，选择新城疫疫苗（NDV）作为模型疫苗。在存在/不存在 AST-VII 或开发的佐剂系统的情况下，用 LaSota 疫苗对瑞士白化小鼠进行皮下免疫。在活/灭活 LaSota 疫苗中施用 AST-VII 均诱导中和和 NDV 特异性 IgG、IgG1 和 IgG2b 抗体反应以及 IL-2 和 IL-4 的产生。基于 APS 的递送系统增强了中和抗体的产生以及 IFN-γ 和 IL-2 水平的轻微增加。单独使用角鲨烯乳液 (SE) 或与 AST-VII 结合使用均能有效地促进 NDV 再刺激的脾细胞增殖。作为结论，含有 AST-VII 和 AST-VII 的佐剂系统证明了 NDV 疫苗中的 Th1/Th2 平衡抗体和细胞免疫反应。因此，这些系统可以开发为病毒疫苗中的疫苗佐剂，以替代基于皂苷的佐剂。