Transcriptomic and Proteomic Signatures Following AS03-adjuvanted Influenza A/H7N9 Vaccine

While the immune responses can be improved with oil-in-water emulsion adjuvants such as Adjuvant System 03 (AS03), the cellular mechanisms underpinning the adjuvant effect are incompletely characterized and poorly understood. In this study, we used RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomics to elucidate the response to two doses of influenza A/H7N9 vaccine, with and without AS03 in six immune cell types.

These responses were also compared to those seen after administration of an unadjuvanted seasonal influenza A/H3N2 variant vaccine to identify signatures unique to adjuvanted influenza vaccine and correlated with later antibody responses. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that AS03-adjuvanted vaccine uniquely led to upregulation of immune pathways in innate immune cells within 24 hours following vaccination for phagocytosis, antigen presentation and processing, inflammasome activation, NK-cell mediated cytotoxicity, IgA production, and interferon-response pathways.