PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kevin R. Trabbic
AU  - Kristopher A. Kleski
AU  - Joseph J Barchi, Jr.
TI  - A Stable Nano-Vaccine for the Targeted Delivery of Tumor-Associated Glycopeptide Antigens
AID  - 10.1101/2021.04.27.438445
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.04.27.438445
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/28/2021.04.27.438445.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/28/2021.04.27.438445.full
AB  - We have developed a novel antigen delivery system based on polysaccharide-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) targeted to antigen presenting cells (APCs) expressing Dectin-1. AuNPs were synthesized de-novo using yeast-derived β-1,3-glucans (B13Gs) as the reductant and passivating agent in a microwave-catalyzed procedure yielding highly uniform and serum-stable particles. These were further functionalized with both peptides and glycopeptides from the tandem repeat sequence of mucin 4 (MUC4), a glycoprotein overexpressed in pancreatic tumors. The glycosylated sequence contained the Thomsen-Friedenreich disaccharide, a pan-carcinoma, Tumor-Associated Carbohydrate Antigen (TACA), which has been a traditional target for antitumor vaccine design. These motifs were prepared with a cathepsin B protease cleavage site (Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly), loaded on the B13Gs-coated particles and these constructs were examined for Dectin-1 binding, APC processing and presentation in a model in vitro system and for immune responses in mice. We showed that these particles elicit strong in vivo immune responses through the production of both high-titer antibodies and priming of antigen-recognizing T-cells. Further examination showed that a favorable antitumor balance of expressed cytokines was generated, with limited expression of immunosuppressive Il-10. This system is modular in that any range of antigens can be conjugated to our particles and efficiently delivered to APCs expressing Dectin-1.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.