Toll-like receptor 8 agonist nanoparticles mimic immunomodulating effects of the live BCG vaccine and enhance neonatal innate and adaptive immune responses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Newborns display distinct immune responses, leaving them vulnerable to infections and impairing immunization. Targeting newborn dendritic cells (DCs), which integrate vaccine signals into adaptive immune responses, might enable development of age-specific vaccine formulations to overcome suboptimal immunization.

Objective

Small-molecule imidazoquinoline Toll-like receptor (TLR) 8 agonists robustly activate newborn DCs but can result in reactogenicity when delivered in soluble form. We used rational engineering and age- and species-specific modeling to construct and characterize polymer nanocarriers encapsulating a TLR8 agonist, allowing direct intracellular release after selective uptake by DCs.

Methods

Chemically similar but morphologically distinct nanoca

SUBMITTER: Dowling DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5667586 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature