Self-Assembled Peptide/Polymer Hybrid Nanoplatform for Cancer Immunostimulating Therapies Publisher Pubmed



Khazaei S^{1, 2} ; Varelacalvino R³ ; Radmalekshahi M¹ ; Quattrini F² ; Jokar S⁴ ; Rezaei N⁵ ; Balalaie S⁶ ; Haririan I¹ ; Csaba N² ; Garciafuentes M²
Source: Drug Delivery and Translational Research Published:2024

Abstract

Integrating peptide epitopes in self-assembling materials is a successful strategy to obtain nanovaccines with high antigen density and improved efficacy. In this study, self-assembling peptides containing MAGE-A3/PADRE epitopes were designed to generate functional therapeutic nanovaccines. To achieve higher stability, peptide/polymer hybrid nanoparticles were formulated by controlled self-assembly of the engineered peptides. The nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility to both human red blood- and dendritic cells. Incubation of the nanoparticles with immature dendritic cells triggered immune effects that ultimately activated CD8 + cells. The antigen-specific and IgG antibody responses of healthy C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with the nanoparticles were analyzed. The in vivo results indicate a specific response to the nanovaccines, mainly mediated through a cellular pathway. This research indicates that the immunogenicity of peptide epitope vaccines can be effectively enhanced by developing self-assembled peptide-polymer hybrid nanostructures. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2023, The Author(s).