Objective: To explore whether polyethylene glycol (PEG) as adjuvant could enhance the humoral and cellular immune responses on hepatitis B virus DNA vaccine.
Methods: C57BL/6J mice were immunized with PEG and pVAX-S2 or alone pVAX-S2. After these mice were finally immunized for 14 days, the anti-HBs IgG, T cell proliferation, the expression of cytokines and CTL in vivo were detected.
Results: Compared to mice immunized with alone pVAX-S2, PEG as adjuvant could increase the production of anti-HBs IgG and HBsAg specific T cell proliferation. In addition, the expression of IL-4, IFN-gamma in CD4+ T cells and IFN-gamma in CD8+ T cells was higher than control groups. The PEG/ pVAX-S2 groups could elicit significantly in vivo HBsAg specific CTL responses.
Conclusions: PEG as adjuvant could enhance humoral and cellular immune responses, as well as in vivo CTL activity.