Immunization with Outer Membrane Vesicles Displaying Designer Glycotopes Yields Class-Switched, Glycan-Specific Antibodies.

ABSTRACT: The development of antibodies against specific glycan epitopes poses a significant challenge due to difficulties obtaining desired glycans at sufficient quantity and purity, and the fact that glycans are usually weakly immunogenic. To address this challenge, we leveraged the potent immunostimulatory activity of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to deliver designer glycan epitopes to the immune system. This approach involved heterologous expression of two clinically important glycans, namely polysialic acid (PSA) and Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (T antigen) in hypervesiculating strains of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli. The resulting glycOMVs displayed structural mimics of PSA or T antigen on their surfaces, and induced high titers of glycan-specific IgG antibodies following immuniz

SUBMITTER: Valentine JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5116915 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature