Carrier priming with CRM197 or diphtheria toxoid has a different impact on the immunogenicity of the respective glycoconjugates: Biophysical and immunochemical interpretation

Abstract 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 (CRM 197 ), 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 CRM 197 or DT does not suppress the response to the carbohydrate moiety of CRM 197 meningococcal 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 CRM 197 structure was altered by the chemical conjugation, while DT and the formaldehyde-treated form of CRM 197 were 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 CRM 197 induced 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 CRM 197 and related conjugates. The low intrinsic immunogenicity of CRM 197 as compared to DT, the structural modifications induced by glycoconjugation and detoxification processes, resulting in conformational changes in CRM 197 and DT epitopes with consequent alteration of the antibody recognition and avidity, might explain the different behavior of CRM 197 and DT in a carrier priming context.