AUTHOR=Chiang Chih-Yuan , Lane Douglas J. , Zou Yefen , Hoffman Tim , Pan Jianfeng , Hampton Janice , Maginnis Jillian , Nayak Bishnu P. , D’Oro Ugo , Valiante Nicholas , Miller Andrew T. , Cooke Michael , Wu Tom , Bavari Sina , Panchal Rekha G. 

TITLE=A Novel Toll-Like Receptor 2 Agonist Protects Mice in a Prophylactic Treatment Model Against Challenge With Bacillus anthracis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.803041

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.803041

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Current therapies for anthrax include the use of antibiotics (i.e., doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin), an anthrax vaccine (BioThrax) and <italic>Bacillus anthracis</italic>-specific, monoclonal antibody (mAb) (i.e., Raxibacumab and obiltoxaximab). In this study, we investigated the activity of immunomodulators, which potentiate inflammatory responses through innate immune receptors. The rationale for the use of innate immune receptor agonists as adjunctive immunomodulators for infectious diseases is based on the concept that augmentation of host defense should promote the antimicrobial mechanism of the host. Our aim was to explore the anti-<italic>B. anthracis</italic> effector function of Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists using a mouse model. Amongst the six TLR ligands tested, Pam<sub>3</sub>CSK<sub>4</sub> (TLR1/2 ligand) was the best at protecting mice from lethal challenge of <italic>B. anthracis.</italic> We then evaluated the activity of a novel TLR2 ligand, DA-98-WW07. DA-98-WW07 demonstrated enhanced protection in <italic>B. anthracis</italic> infected mice. The surviving mice that received DA-98-WW07 when re-challenged with <italic>B. anthracis</italic> 20 days post the first infection showed increased survival rate. Moreover, ciprofloxacin, when treated in adjunct with a suboptimal concentration of DA-98-WW07 demonstrated augmented activity in protecting mice from <italic>B. anthracis</italic> infection. Taken together, we report the prophylactic treatment potential of DA-98-WW07 for anthrax and the utility of immunomodulators in combination with an antibiotic to treat infections caused by the <italic>B. anthracis</italic> bacterium.</p>