Euliano Erin M, Pogostin Brett H, Agrawal Anushka, Yu Marina H, Baryakova Tsvetelina H, Graf Tyler P, Kunkel Alyssa A, Cahue Kiana A, Hartgerink Jeffrey D, McHugh Kevin J
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
Department of Chemistry, Rice University, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Jan;14(3):e2402958. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202402958. Epub 2024 Oct 25.
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns and, in turn, trigger the release of cytokines and other immunostimulatory molecules. As a result, TLR agonists are increasingly being investigated as vaccine adjuvants. Many of these agonists are small molecules that quickly diffuse away from the vaccination site, limiting their co-localization with antigens and, thus, their effect. Here, the small-molecule TLR7 agonist 1V209 is conjugated to a positively-charged multidomain peptide (MDP) hydrogel, K, which was previously shown to act as an adjuvant promoting humoral immunity. Mixing the 1V209-conjugated K 50:50 with the unfunctionalized K produces hydrogels that retain the shear-thinning and self-healing physical properties of the original MDP while improving the solubility of 1V209 more than 200-fold compared to the unconjugated molecule. When co-delivered with ovalbumin as a model antigen, 1V209-functionalized K produces a robust Th2 immune response and an antigen-specific Th1 immune response superior to alum, a widely used vaccine adjuvant. Together, these results suggest that K MDP hydrogels functionalized with 1V209 are a promising adjuvant for vaccines against infectious diseases, especially those benefiting from a combined Th1 and Th2 immune response.
Toll样受体(TLR)可识别病原体相关分子模式和损伤相关分子模式,进而触发细胞因子及其他免疫刺激分子的释放。因此,TLR激动剂正越来越多地被作为疫苗佐剂进行研究。这些激动剂大多是小分子,会迅速从接种部位扩散,限制了它们与抗原的共定位,从而影响其效果。在此,将小分子TLR7激动剂1V209与带正电荷的多结构域肽(MDP)水凝胶K偶联,K此前已被证明可作为促进体液免疫的佐剂。将与1V209偶联的K和未功能化的K按50:50混合,可制得水凝胶,其保留了原始MDP的剪切变稀和自愈物理特性,同时与未偶联的分子相比,1V209的溶解度提高了200多倍。当与作为模型抗原的卵清蛋白共同递送时,1V209功能化的K可产生强大的Th2免疫反应以及优于明矾(一种广泛使用的疫苗佐剂)的抗原特异性Th1免疫反应。总之,这些结果表明,用1V209功能化的K MDP水凝胶是一种有前景的针对传染病疫苗的佐剂,尤其是那些受益于Th1和Th2联合免疫反应的疫苗。
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