comparative evaluation of mx and alum as bio and conventional adjuvants in inducing immune responses by influenza dna vaccine

Background & objective: dna vaccines as a new generation of vaccines require adjuvant to improve vaccine immunogenicity; adjuvants can also increase the dna vaccine efficacy. in this study, the effects of the host’s interferon-inducible mx protein as bio adjuvant and conventional alum adjuvant were evaluated.materials & methods: the balb/c mice were immunized by different prime-boost strategies of the alum and mx adjuvanted-ha2 dna vaccine; they were challenged with the specific influenza virus. the potency and safety were evaluated. humoral immune response was assayed by haemagglutination and virus neutralization tests. the induction of cell-mediated immune responses was determined using an mtt assay. the safety of vaccine regarding side effects occurrence was assessed by observation and histopathologic evaluation.results: mx as a host defense peptide was able to increase the immune response against influenza better than alum adjuvant (p<0.01). by ha2 and mx in prime and boost strategy, the highest level of specific antibodies developed; they are capable of inducing cell-mediated immune responses. results indicated that mx in the dna vaccine could induce stronger immune responses without any side effects; but alum had some local and general reactions.conclusion: the mx could effectively enhance immune responses; it has the potential to enhance the vaccine immunogenicity.