Enzymatically synthesized exopolysaccharide of a probiotic strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides NTM048 shows adjuvant activity to promote IgA antibody responses

Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain NTM048 produces an exopolysaccharide (EPS; glucose polymers 94% and fructose polymers 6%) with adjuvanticity for mucosal vaccination. Strain NTM048 includes three putative EPS-synthesizing genes, gtf1 and gtf2 for synthesizing glucose polymers, and lvnS for synthesizing fructose polymer. To elucidate the key polymer structure for adjuvanticity, two genes, gtf1 and gtf2, which were annotated as glycoside hydrolase family 70 enzyme genes, were expressed in Escherichia coli. Glycosyl-linkage composition analysis and NMR analysis showed that the recombinant enzyme Gtf1 produced a soluble form of α-1,6-glucan, whereas the recombinant enzyme Gtf2 produced glucans with approximately equal percentages of α-1,6- and α-1,3-glucose residues both in the supernatant (S-glucan) and as a precipitate (P-glucan). Comparison of polysaccharides synthesized by Gtf1, Gtf2, and LvnS revealed that Gtf2-S-glucan, which was produced in the supernatant by Gtf2 and formed particles of 7.8 µm, possessed 1.8-fold higher ability to stimulate IgA production from murine Peyer’s patch cells than native NTM048 EPS. Evaluation of adjuvanticity by intranasal administration of mice with an antigen (ovalbumin) and Gtf2-S-glucan or NTM048 EPS showed that Gtf2-S-glucan induced the production of higher antigen-specific antibodies in the airway mucosa and plasma, suggesting a pivotal role of Gtf2-S-glucan in the adjuvanticity of NTM048 EPS.