A coimmunization vaccine of Aβ42 ameliorates cognitive deficits without brain inflammation in an Alzheimer’s disease model

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination against amyloid-β protein (Aβ42) induces high levels of antibody, making it a promising strategy for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). One drawback in the past was that clinical trial approval was withheld because of speculation that the Aβ42 vaccine induces CD4(+) T cell infiltrations into the central nervous system. To reduce T-cell activation while concomitantly maintaining high anti-Aβ42 titers is a great challenge in immunology. METHODS: We aimed to demonstrate that coimmunization with Aβ42 protein and expression plasmid can be beneficial in a mouse AD model and can prevent inflammation. We immunized the AD mice with the coimmunization vaccine and assessed behavior change and Aβ42 deposition. Furthermore, to determine the safety of the coimmunization vaccine, we used an induced Aβ42-EAE model to mimic the meningoencephalitis that happened in the AN-1792 vaccine clinical phase II trial and tested whether the coimmunization vaccine could ameliorate T-cell-mediated brain inflammation. RESULTS: The coimmunization vaccination reduced Aβ plaques and significantly ameliorated cognitive deficit while inhibiting T-cell-mediated brain inflammation and infiltration. These studies demonstrate that the coimmunization strategy that we describe in this article can ameliorate AD pathology without notable adverse effects in mice. CONCLUSIONS: A coimmunization strategy leading to the development of a safe immunotherapeutic/preventive protocol against AD in humans is warranted.