Bisphosphonates Target B Cells to Enhance Humoral Immune Responses

Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that are widely used to inhibit loss of bone mass in patients. We show here that the administration of clinically relevant doses of bisphosphonates in mice increases antibody responses to live and inactive viruses, proteins, haptens and existing commercial vaccine formulations. Bisphosphonates exert this adjuvant-like activity in the absence of CD4+ and γδ T cells, neutrophils or dendritic cells and their effect does not rely on local macrophage depletion nor does it depend upon Toll-like receptor signaling or the inflammasome. Rather, bisphosphonates target directly B cells and enhance B cell expansion and antibody production upon antigen encounter. These data establish bisphosphonates as a novel class of adjuvants that boost humoral immune responses.