Carrier priming with CRM197or diphtheria toxoid has a different impact on the immunogenicity of the respective glycoconjugates: Biophysical and immunochemical interpretation

Glycoconjugate vaccines play an enormous role in preventing infectious diseases. The main carrier proteins used in commercial conjugate vaccines are the non-toxic mutant of diphtheria toxin (CRM197), diphtheria toxoid (DT) and tetanus toxoid (TT). Modern childhood routine vaccination schedules include the administration of several vaccines simultaneously or in close sequence, increasing the concern that the repeated exposure to conjugates based on these carrier proteins might interfere with the anti-polysaccharide response. Extending previous observations we show here that priming mice with CRM197or DT does not suppress the response to the carbohydrate moiety of CRM197meningococcal serogroup A (MenA) conjugates, while priming with DT can suppress the response to DT-MenA conjugates. To explain these findings we made use of biophysical and immunochemical techniques applied mainly to MenA conjugates. Differential scanning calorimetry and circular dichroism data revealed that the CRM197structure was altered by the chemical conjugation, while DT and the formaldehyde-treated form of CRM197were less impacted, depending on the degree of glycosylation. Investigating the binding and avidity properties of IgGs induced in mice by non-conjugated carriers, we found that CRM197induced low levels of anti-carrier antibodies, with decreased avidity for its MenA conjugates and poor binding to DT and respective MenA conjugates. In contrast, DT induced high antibody titers able to bind with comparable avidity both the protein and its conjugates but showing very low avidity for CRM197and related conjugates. The low intrinsic immunogenicity of CRM197as compared to DT, the structural modifications induced by glycoconjugation and detoxification processes, resulting in conformational changes in CRM197and DT epitopes with consequent alteration of the antibody recognition and avidity, might explain the different behavior of CRM197and DT in a carrier priming context.