Intranasal administration of cationic liposomes enhanced granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor expression and this expression is dispensable for mucosal adjuvant activity

OBJECTIVE: Infectious diseases remain a threat to human life. Vaccination against pathogenic microbes is a primary method of treatment as well as prevention of infectious diseases. Particularly mucosal vaccination is a promising approach to fight against most infectious diseases, because mucosal surfaces are a major point of entry for most pathogens. We recently developed an effective mucosal adjuvant of cationic liposomes composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) and 3β-[N-(N′,N′-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl] (DC-chol) (DOTAP/DC-chol liposomes). However, the mechanism(s) underlying the mucosal adjuvant effects exerted by the cationic liposomes have been unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which was reported to act as a mucosal adjuvant, on the mucosal adjuvant activities of DOTAP/DC-chol liposomes when administered intranasally to mice. RESULTS: Here, we show that, although intranasal vaccination with cationic liposomes in combination with antigenic protein elicited GM-CSF expression at the site of administration, blocking GM-CSF function by using an anti-GM-CSF neutralizing antibody did not alter antigen-specific antibody production induced by DOTAP/DC-chol liposomes, indicating that GM-CSF may not contribute to the mucosal adjuvant activity of the cationic liposomes when administered intranasally. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3591-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.