Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Napoli, Italy.
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Oct 29;25(21):11630. doi: 10.3390/ijms252111630.
In recent years, natural polymers have attracted great interest for the development of release systems for vaccine formulations and drug delivery. Zein, a hydrophobic proline-rich protein mixture obtained from maize, is one of the most widely used polymers, very promising for applications in tissue engineering and the parenteral delivery of bioactive agents. Still, we have a limited understanding of the interaction between zein particles and the human immune system, in particular innate immunity/inflammation, which is the first line of defense of our body. Assessing the immune safety of nanoparticles is of central importance for ensuring that nano-formulations for medical use do not cause adverse effects on human health. Here, we evaluated the capacity of zein nanoparticles to induce/modulate the innate/inflammatory response, the development of innate memory, and the macrophage polarization by using reliable in vitro systems based on human primary monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. We observed that zein nanoparticles do not influence any of these aspects of the innate immune/inflammatory response, suggesting its safety and its potential efficiency as a nanocarrier for drug or antigen delivery.
近年来，天然聚合物因其在疫苗制剂和药物传递释放系统中的发展而引起了极大的兴趣。玉米醇溶蛋白是一种从玉米中提取的富含疏水性脯氨酸的蛋白质混合物，是最广泛使用的聚合物之一，非常有希望应用于组织工程和生物活性物质的注射给药。然而，我们对玉米醇溶蛋白颗粒与人体免疫系统（特别是先天免疫/炎症，它是人体的第一道防线）之间的相互作用了解有限。评估纳米颗粒的免疫安全性对于确保用于医疗用途的纳米制剂不会对人体健康产生不良影响至关重要。在这里，我们使用基于人原代单核细胞和单核细胞衍生的巨噬细胞的可靠体外系统，评估了玉米醇溶蛋白纳米颗粒诱导/调节先天/炎症反应、先天记忆的发展和巨噬细胞极化的能力。我们观察到玉米醇溶蛋白纳米颗粒不会影响先天免疫/炎症反应的任何方面，这表明其安全性及其作为药物或抗原传递的纳米载体的潜在效率。
