0000000000154161

AUTHOR

Keti Piradashvili

Delivering all in one: Antigen-nanocapsule loaded with dual adjuvant yields superadditive effects by DC-directed T cell stimulation

Therapeutic vaccination is and remains a major challenge, particularly in cancer treatment. In this process, the effective activation of dendritic cells by a combination of distinctly acting adjuvants and an antigen is crucial for success. While most common vaccine formulations lack the efficiency to trigger sufficient T cell responses in a therapeutic tumor treatment, nanovaccines offer unique properties to tackle that challenge. Here, we report the stepwise development of a nanocapsule for vaccination approaches, comprising a shell consisting of antigen and loaded with a superadditive adjuvant combination. In a first initial step, we identified the combination of resiquimod (R848) and mur…

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Surface Modification of Porous Polyethylene Implants with an Albumin-Based Nanocarrier-Release System

Background: Porous polyethylene (PPE) implants are used for the reconstruction of tissue defects but have a risk of rejection in case of insufficient ingrowth into the host tissue. Various growth factors can promote implant ingrowth, yet a long-term gradient is a prerequisite for the mediation of these effects. As modification of the implant surface with nanocarriers may facilitate a long-term gradient by sustained factor release, implants modified with crosslinked albumin nanocarriers were evaluated in vivo. Methods: Nanocarriers from murine serum albumin (MSA) were prepared by an inverse miniemulsion technique encapsulating either a low- or high-molar mass fluorescent cargo. PPE implants …

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Biodegradable Protein Nanocontainers

The application of synthetic polymers for drug delivery often requires tremendous efforts to ensure biocompatibility and -degradation. To use the body's own substances can help to overcome these problems. Herein, we present the first synthesis of nanocontainers entirely composed of albumin proteins. These protein nanocontainers (PNCs) were loaded with hydrophilic compounds and release of the payload is triggered through natural lysis in vitro in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs). No aggregation of PNCs in human blood plasma was observed, indicating stability for blood circulation. As the PNCs were readily taken up by moDCs, they are considered as a promising delivery platform f…

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Fully degradable protein nanocarriers by orthogonal photoclick tetrazole-ene chemistry for the encapsulation and release

The encapsulation of sensitive drugs into nanocarriers retaining their bioactivity and achieving selective release is a challenging topic in current drug delivery design. Established protocols rely on metal-catalyzed or unspecific reactions to build the (mostly synthetic) vehicles which may inhibit the drug's function. Triggered by light, the mild tetrazole–ene cycloaddition enables us to prepare protein nanocarriers (PNCs) preserving at the same time the bioactivity of the sensitive antitumor and antiviral cargo Resiquimod (R848). This catalyst-free reaction was designed to take place at the interface of aqueous nanodroplets in miniemulsion to produce core–shell PNCs with over 90% encapsul…

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Polymeric hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 5A nanocapsules induce intrahepatic antigen-specific immune responses

Targeting antigen combined with adjuvants to hepatic antigen-presenting cells (APCs) is essential for the induction of intrahepatic T cellular immunity controlling and resolving viral infections of the liver. Intravenous injection of antigen-loaded nanoparticles is a promising approach for the delivery of antigens to liver APCs. Accordingly, polymeric nanocapsules (NCs) synthesized exclusively of hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) and the adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) adsorbed to the nanocapsule surface were developed. Aim of the present study was the evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo behavior of MPLA-functionalized NS5A-NCs regarding the interaction with liver…

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MPLA-coated hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) nanocapsules induce vigorous T cell responses in cord blood derived human T cells.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most prevalent serious liver infection in the world. A frequent route of infection represents mother-to-child transmission. Efficient control of HBV replication depends on antigen-specific cellular immune response mediated by dendritic cells (DCs). Aim of the present study was to evaluate optimized adjuvant combinations, efficiently maturing monocyte-derived neonatal and adult dendritic cells (moDCs). In addition, the potential of polymeric HBsAg-nanocapsules (HBsAg-NCs) was investigated regarding up-take by moDCs and the subsequent induction of specific T cell responses in a human co-culture model. Simultaneous stimulation of moDCs with MPLA…

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