Tracing Aluminium-based Adjuvants: Their Interactions with Immune Competent Cells and their Effect on Mitochondrial Activity

Results: No or minor change of zeta potential and average particle size of lumogallion labelled aluminium oxyhydroxide, AlO(OH) and aluminium hydroxyphosphate, Al(OH)x(PO4)y. Both phagocytosing and non-phagocytosing leukocytes became associated with ABAs at concentrations expected after in vivo administration of a vaccine. The ABAs were relatively toxic, affecting both lymphocytes and monocytes, and Al(OH)x(PO4)y was more toxic than AlO(OH). Endocytosed aluminium adjuvant particles were not secreted from the cells and remained intracellular throughout several cell divisions. The presence of ABAs increased the mitochondrial activity of the monocytic cell line THP-1 and peripheral monocytes, as based on the transformation of tetrazolium into formazan.