Abstract

Cochleate structures (CS) consist in a highly stable lipid structures that have been reported to be a good antigen delivery system. The incorporation of pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP) from bacterial membranes into CS became in a promising approach to develop adjuvants, particularly mucosal adjuvants. Therefore, we prepare CS from proteoliposome (PL) obtained from Neisseria meningitidis B (PLCS) and evaluated it for its capability to stimulate the immune system as well as the adjuvant activity. The ability of PLCS to induce Th 1 polarization was also explored. The results and the easy capability for new antigen incorporation on CS support its use as adjuvant for immunization with a large variety of pathogen derived antigens and different routes of immunization. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.