New vaccine that elicit pulmonary cytotoxic T cell responses.
© 2011 EPFL
Nanoparticle conjugation of antigen enhances cytotoxic T-cell responses in pulmonary vaccination.
Disulfide-linked nanoparticle-antigen conjugates could be useful for creating vaccines that elicit pulmonary cytotoxic T cell responses. As shown by the groups of Prof. Jeffrey Hubbell (LMRP - Merck Serono Chair in Drug Delivery) and Prof. Melody Swartz (LLCB - Laboratory of Lymphatic and Cancer Bioengineering), intranasal delivery of a model antigen linked to a nanoparticle increased Cd8+ T cell responses and improved protection against an engineered influenza strain compared with unconjugated antigen in mice. Next steps will include testing the vaccine in additional pulmonary indications, including lung cancer and tuberculosis.
Chiara Nembrini et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1104264108 (2011)