ENHANCEMENT OF B CELL ACTIVATION AND IMMUNOGLOBULIN SECRETION BY CO-STIMULATION OF RECEPTORS FOR ANTIGEN AND EBV GP350/220

摘要

The present invention provides vaccine adjuvants comprising the Epstein Barr Virus glycoprotein 350/220 or naturally occuring variants thereof, a fusion protein comprising EBV Gp350/220 sequence which binds to the CR2 receptor, o r a synthetically-derived fragment of Gp350/220 which retains the ability to bind to the CR2 receptor. The present invention further provides immunostimulatory compositions comprising an EBV Gp350/220 adjuvant sequence that binds the CR2 complex and at least one antigen of interest other than Gp350/220. Co-administration of the adjuvant with an antigen of interest, other than an antigen comprising EBV 350/220 sequence, enhances the immunogenicity of the antigen. In a preferred embodiment, the adjuvant is directly or indirectly covalently bound to an antigen of interest to form an immunogenic composition. In a most preferred embodiment of the composition, antibodies are elicited against at least one Gp350/220 epitope and against a t least one epitope of the antigen.