Fentanyl conjugate vaccine by injected or mucosal delivery with dmLT or LTA1 adjuvants implicates IgA in protection from drug challenge

• Main Authors: Addison E. Stone, Sarah E. Scheuermann, Colin N. Haile, Gregory D. Cuny, Marcela Lopez Velasquez, Joshua P. Linhuber, Anantha L. Duddupudi, Jennifer R. Vigliaturo, Marco Pravetoni, Therese A. Kosten, Thomas R. Kosten, Elizabeth B. Norton
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-05-01
• Series: npj Vaccines
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00329-0

Abstract Fentanyl is a major contributor to the devastating increase in overdose deaths from substance use disorders (SUD). A vaccine targeting fentanyl could be a powerful immunotherapeutic. Here, we evaluated adjuvant and delivery strategies for conjugate antigen vaccination with fentanyl-based haptens. We tested adjuvants derived from the heat-labile toxin of E. coli including dmLT and LTA1 by intramuscular, sublingual or intranasal delivery. Our results show anti-fentanyl serum antibodies and antibody secreting cells in the bone-marrow after vaccination with highest levels observed with an adjuvant (alum, dmLT, or LTA1). Vaccine adjuvanted with LTA1 or dmLT elicited the highest levels of anti-fentanyl antibodies, whereas alum achieved highest levels against the carrier protein. Vaccination with sublingual dmLT or intranasal LTA1 provided the most robust blockade of fentanyl-induced analgesia and CNS penetration correlating strongly to anti-FEN IgA. In conclusion, this study demonstrates dmLT or LTA1 adjuvant as well as mucosal delivery may be attractive strategies for improving the efficacy of vaccines against SUD.