Shigella Sonnel O-SPC/rBRU Conjugate Vaccine

The active ingredient of this Shigella sonnei O-SP-core conjugate vaccine is a saccharide-protein conjugate composed of a fragment of S. sonnei LPS. The saccharide component consists of an average of 3.5 repeat units of the O-SP plus the core region of the LPS (O-SPC). The O-SPC is covalently bound to the recombinant non-toxic exoprotein B of Clostridium difficile.

The objective of this phase of the study is to determine if this vaccine is safe and can induce IgG antibody type-specific immunity to shigellosis in adults. The overall objective is to determine if this vaccine can elicit higher levels of IgG antibody than the previous experimental vaccines made with the full length O-SP, shown to be >70% efficacious in greater than or equal to3 year old children, to induce type-specific immunity to shigellosis in younger children.

Sixty 18-49 years-old healthy adults will be recruited in Israel. Volunteers will be vaccinated on a random basis with one i.m. injection of 10 or 25 micrograms of the investigational conjugate vaccine. Local and systemic reactions will be observed at 30 minutes, and the volunteers will be instructed to take their temperature and examine the injection site for redness and swelling and fill out a questionnaire at 6, hours and daily for 7 days after vaccination. The volunteers will visit the clinic at 24 or 48 hours following the injection and any time they request it. The study will commence with 5 volunteers injected with the 10ug dose to be followed, if no severe adverse reactions occur, by 5 volunteers injected with the 25ug dose. If a severe adverse reaction occurs on 1 of the 5 volunteers in either group, 5 more will be injected with that dose. If there are no severe adverse reactions the study will proceed. If there is one more severe reaction the study will be halted and re-evaluated by the IRB and the FDA.

Vaccine-induced antibodies will be measured at 1 and 6 months after immunization, and compared to those elicited by our previous S. sonnei conjugate vaccines.

There is a body of evidence that a critical level of serum IgG antibody to the O-specific polysaccharide domain of LPS confers type-specific immunity to S. sonnei as well as to other Shigella:

1. Shigellosis is rarely observed in infants up to the age of 4-6 months. The most obvious explanation for this is that maternally-derived serum IgG provides this immunity;
2. There is an age-related development of IgG anti-LPS antibodies that, in many instances, is not induced by the homologous bacteria but by non-pathogenic cross-reacting enteric bacteria;
3. The highest incidence, morbidity, and mortality occur during 6 months to 6 years of age when the maternally-derived serum anti-O-SP has waned and the naturally-derived antibodies have not yet appeared;
4. One injection of a S. sonnei-rEPA conjugate showed significant protection against shigellosis in Israeli Defense Force soldiers. Vaccinees who developed shigellosis showed significantly lower serum IgG responses to the homologous LPS than those did not.The high antibody level induced by the conjugate vaccine indicates the positive correlation between the serum IgG anti-LPS levels and immunity to S. sonnei infection;
5. Following Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies that showed safety and age-related immunogenicity, a double-blinded randomized and vaccine-controlled Phase 3 evaluation of S. sonnei and S. flexneri type 2a O-specific polysaccharide (O-SP) protein conjugates was conducted among 1-4 year-olds in Israel.

For recipients of the S. sonnei conjugate 71.1% efficacy was shown among 3-4 year-old recipients, no efficacy was shown for recipients of S. flexneri 2a. There was no statistically significant efficacy for either vaccine in the 1-3 year-olds. Levels of serum IgG anti-O-SP were elevated according to the vaccine the children received but G.M. levels declined rapidly several months after the last injection. Our interpretation is that the age-related efficacy of the Shigella conjugates was due to the conjugate-induced O-SP antibody levels. Accordingly, we have developed a method to increase the immunogenicity of the conjugates to approach the antibody levels of Israeli soldiers shown to be protected by our S. sonnei O-SP.

Low-molecular-mass O-SP-core (O-SPC) fragments were isolated from S. sonnei LPS, and bound by their reducing ends to the carrier protein. The O-SPC conjugates used oxime linkages between the terminal Kdo residues at the reducing ends of the S. sonnei saccharides and aminooxy linkers bound to the carrier. The coupling reaction was carried out at a neutral pH and room temperature. The carrier protein was a mutant non-toxic Clostridium difficile exotoxin B. IgG antibody levels induced in young outbred mice by this new S. sonnei O-SPC conjugate were significantly higher than those elicited by the O-SP conjugates.