Outer membrane vesicles engineered to express membrane-bound antigen program dendritic cells for cross-presentation to CD8+ T cells

Intranasal delivery of Salmonella OMVs decorated with Chlamydia trachomatis antigens induces specific local and systemic immune responses

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen responsible for the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted disease globally. The high prevalence of chlamydial infections underscores the urgent need for licensed and effective vaccines to prevent transmission in populations. Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have emerged as promising mucosal vaccine carriers due to their inherent adjuvant properties and the ability to display heterologous antigens. In this proof-of-concept study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of Salmonella OMVs decorated with C. trachomatis MOMP-derived CTH522 or HtrA antigens in mice. Following a prime-boost intranasal vaccination approach, two OMV-based C. trachomatis vaccines elicited significant humoral responses specific to the antigens in both systemic and vaginal compartments. Furthermore, we demonstrated strong antigen-specific IFN-γ and IL17a responses in splenocytes and cervical lymph node cells of vaccinated mice, indicating CD4+ Th1 and Th17 biased immune responses. Notably, the OMV-CTH522 vaccine also induced the production of spleen-derived CD8+ T cells expressing IFN-γ. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential of OMV-based C. trachomatis vaccines for successful use in future challenge studies and demonstrate the suitability of our modular OMV platform for intranasal vaccine applications.

Exploiting bacterial-origin immunostimulants for improved vaccination and immunotherapy: current insights and future directions

Vaccination is a valid strategy to prevent and control newly emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in humans and animals. However, synthetic and recombinant antigens are poor immunogenic to stimulate efficient and protective host immune response. Immunostimulants are indispensable factors of vaccines, which can promote to trigger fast, robust, and long-lasting immune responses. Importantly, immunotherapy with immunostimulants is increasing proved to be an effective and promising treatment of cancer, which could enhance the function of the immune system against tumor cells. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play vital roles in inflammation and are central to innate and adaptive immune responses. Toll-like receptors (TLRs)-targeting immunostimulants have become one of the hotspots in adjuvant research and cancer therapy. Bacterial-origin immunoreactive molecules are usually the ligands of PRRs, which could be fast recognized by PRRs and activate immune response to eliminate pathogens. Varieties of bacterial immunoreactive molecules and bacterial component-mimicking molecules have been successfully used in vaccines and clinical therapy so far. This work provides a comprehensive review of the development, current state, mechanisms, and applications of bacterial-origin immunostimulants. The exploration of bacterial immunoreactive molecules, along with their corresponding mechanisms, holds immense significance in deepening our understanding of bacterial pathogenicity and in the development of promising immunostimulants.

Bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles: endogenous roles, therapeutic potentials and their biomimetics for the treatment and prevention of sepsis

Sepsis is one of the medical conditions with a high mortality rate and lacks specific treatment despite several years of extensive research. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) are emerging as a focal target in the pathophysiology and treatment of sepsis. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from pathogenic microorganisms carry pathogenic factors such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and virulence factors and are regarded as "long-range weapons" to trigger an inflammatory response. In particular, the small size of bEVs can cross the blood-brain and placental barriers that are difficult for pathogens to cross, deliver pathogenic agents to host cells, activate the host immune system, and possibly accelerate the bacterial infection process and subsequent sepsis. Over the years, research into host-derived EVs has increased, leading to breakthroughs in cancer and sepsis treatments. However, related approaches to the role and use of bacterial-derived EVs are still rare in the treatment of sepsis. Herein, this review looked at the dual nature of bEVs in sepsis by highlighting their inherent functions and emphasizing their therapeutic characteristics and potential. Various biomimetics of bEVs for the treatment and prevention of sepsis have also been reviewed. Finally, the latest progress and various obstacles in the clinical application of bEVs have been highlighted.

Prokaryotic microvesicles Ortholog of eukaryotic extracellular vesicles in biomedical fields

Every single cell can communicate with other cells in a paracrine manner via the production of nano-sized extracellular vesicles. This phenomenon is conserved between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In eukaryotic cells, exosomes (Exos) are the main inter-cellular bioshuttles with the potential to carry different signaling molecules. Likewise, bacteria can produce and release Exo-like particles, namely microvesicles (MVs) into the extracellular matrix. Bacterial MVs function with diverse biological properties and are at the center of attention due to their inherent therapeutic properties. Here, in this review article, the comparable biological properties between the eukaryotic Exos and bacterial MVs were highlighted in terms of biomedical application. Video Abstract.

Metal-polyphenol "prison" attenuated bacterial outer membrane vesicle for chemodynamics promoted in situ tumor vaccines

As natural adjuvants, the bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMV) hold great potential in cancer vaccines. However, the inherent immunotoxicity of OMV and the rarity of tumor-specific antigens seriously hamper the clinical translation of OMV-based cancer vaccines. Herein, metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) are used to attenuate the toxicity of OMV, meanwhile, provide tumor antigens via the chemodynamic effect induced immunogenic cell death (ICD). Specifically, MPNs are assembled on the OMV surface through the coordination reaction between ferric ions and tannic acid. The iron-based "prison" is locally collapsed in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with both low pH and high ATP features, and thus the systemic toxicity of OMV is significantly attenuated. The released ferric ions in TME promote the ICD of cancer cells through Fenton reaction and then the generation of abundant tumor antigens, which can be used to fabricate in-situ vaccines by converging with OMV. Together with the immunomodulatory effect of OMV, potent tumor repression on a bilateral tumor model is achieved with good biosafety.

On-Demand Vaccine Production via Dock-and-Display of Biotinylated Antigens on Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles

Engineered outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Gram-negative bacteria are a promising vaccine technology for developing immunity against diverse pathogens. However, antigen display on OMVs can be challenging to control and highly variable due to bottlenecks in protein expression and localization to the bacterial host cell's outer membrane, especially for bulky and complex antigens. Here, we describe methods related to a universal vaccine technology called AvidVax (avidin-based vaccine antigen crosslinking) for rapid and simplified assembly of antigens on the exterior of OMVs during vaccine development. The AvidVax platform involves remodeling the OMV surface with multiple copies of a synthetic antigen-binding protein (SNAP), which is an engineered fusion protein comprised of an outer membrane scaffold protein linked to a biotin-binding protein. The resulting SNAPs enable efficient decoration of OMVs with a molecularly diverse array of biotinylated subunit antigens, including globular and membrane proteins, glycans and glycoconjugates, haptens, lipids, nucleic acids, and short peptides. We detail the key steps in the AvidVax vaccine production pipeline including preparation and isolation of SNAP-OMVs, biotinylation and enrichment of vaccine antigens, and formulation and characterization of antigen-loaded SNAP-OMVs.

Antigen cross-presentation in dendric cells: From bench to bedside

Cross-presentation (XPT) is an adaptation of the cellular process in which dendritic cells (DCs) present exogenous antigens on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules for recognition of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells, resulting in immunity or tolerance. Recent advances in DCs have broadened our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of XPT and strengthened their application in tumor immunotherapy. In this review, we summarized the known mechanisms of XPT, including the receptor-mediated internalization of exogenous antigens, endosome escape, engagement of the other XPT-related proteins, and adjuvants, which significantly enhance the XPT capacity of DCs. Consequently, various strategies to enhance XPT can be adopted and optimized to improve outcomes of DC-based therapy.

The potential role of gut microbiota outer membrane vesicles in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant digestive tract tumor in colorectal regions. Considerable evidence now shows that the gut microbiota have essential roles in CRC occurrence and development. Most Gram-negative bacteria release outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) via outer membrane blistering, which contain specific cargoes which interact with host cells via intercellular communications, host immune regulation, and gut microbiota homeostasis. Studies have also shown that OMVs selectively cluster near tumor cells, thus cancer treatment strategies based on OMVs have attracted considerable research attention. However, little is known about the possible impact of gut microbiota OMVs in CRC pathophysiology. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the research progress on molecular composition and function of OMV, and review the microbial dysbiosis in CRC. We then focus on the potential role of gut microbiota OMVs in CRC. Finally, we examine the clinical potential of OMVs in CRC treatment, and their main advantages and challenges in tumor therapy.

Nanovaccines: A game changing approach in the fight against infectious diseases

The field of nanotechnology has revolutionised global attempts to prevent, treat, and eradicate infectious diseases in the foreseen future. Nanovaccines have proven to be a valuable pawn in this novel technology. Nanovaccines are made up of nanoparticles that are associated with or prepared with components that can stimulate the host's immune system. In addition to their delivery capabilities, the nanocarriers have been demonstrated to possess intrinsic adjuvant properties, working as immune cell stimulators. Thus, nanovaccines have the potential to promote rapid as well as long-lasting humoral and cellular immunity. The nanovaccines have several possible benefits, including site-specific antigen delivery, increased antigen bioavailability, and a diminished adverse effect profile. To avail these benefits, several nanoparticle-based vaccines are being developed, including virus-like particles, liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, lipid nanoparticles, emulsion vaccines, exomes, and inorganic nanoparticles. Inspired by their distinctive properties, researchers are working on the development of nanovaccines for a variety of applications, such as cancer immunotherapy and infectious diseases. Although a few challenges still need to be overcome, such as modulation of the nanoparticle pharmacokinetics to avoid rapid elimination from the bloodstream by the reticuloendothelial system, The future prospects of this technology are also assuring, with multiple options such as personalised vaccines, needle-free formulations, and combination nanovaccines with several promising candidates.

Bacteria and Bacterial Components as Natural Bio-Nanocarriers for Drug and Gene Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy

Bacteria and bacterial components possess multifunctional properties, making them attractive natural bio-nanocarriers for cancer diagnosis and targeted treatment. The inherent tropic and motile nature of bacteria allows them to grow and colonize in hypoxic tumor microenvironments more readily than conventional therapeutic agents and other nanomedicines. However, concerns over biosafety, limited antitumor efficiency, and unclear tumor-targeting mechanisms have restricted the clinical translation and application of natural bio-nanocarriers based on bacteria and bacterial components. Fortunately, bacterial therapies combined with engineering strategies and nanotechnology may be able to reverse a number of challenges for bacterial/bacterial component-based cancer biotherapies. Meanwhile, the combined strategies tend to enhance the versatility of bionanoplasmic nanoplatforms to improve biosafety and inhibit tumorigenesis and metastasis. This review summarizes the advantages and challenges of bacteria and bacterial components in cancer therapy, outlines combinatorial strategies for nanocarriers and bacterial/bacterial components, and discusses their clinical applications.

Microbe-host interactions: structure and functions of Gram-negative bacterial membrane vesicles

Bacteria-host interaction is a common, relevant, and intriguing biological phenomena. The host reacts actively or passively to the bacteria themselves, their products, debris, and so on, through various defense systems containing the immune system, the bacteria communicate with the local or distal tissues of the host via their own surface antigens, secreted products, nucleic acids, etc., resulting in relationships of attack and defense, adaptation, symbiosis, and even collaboration. The significance of bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) as a powerful vehicle for the crosstalk mechanism between the two is growing. In the recent decade, the emergence of MVs in microbial interactions and a variety of bacterial infections, with multiple adhesions to host tissues, cell invasion and evasion of host defense mechanisms, have brought MVs to the forefront of bacterial pathogenesis research. Whereas MVs are a complex combination of molecules not yet fully understood, research into its effects, targeting and pathogenic components will advance its understanding and utilization. This review will summarize structural, extraction and penetration information on several classes of MVs and emphasize the role of MVs in transport and immune response activation. Finally, the potential of MVs as a therapeutic method will be highlighted, as will future research prospects.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles and their interplay with the immune system

The mammalian intestinal tract harbors trillions of microorganisms confined within this space by mucosal barriers. Despite these barriers, bacterial components may still be found elsewhere in the body, even in healthy subjects. Bacteria can release small lipid-bound particles, also named bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEV). While bacteria themselves cannot normally penetrate the mucosal defense, bEVs may infiltrate the barrier and disseminate throughout the body. The extremely diverse cargo that bEVs can carry, depending on their parent species, strain, and growth conditions, grant them an equally broad potential to interact with host cells and influence immune functions. Herein, we review the current knowledge of processes underlying the uptake of bEVs by mammalian cells, and their effect on the immune system. Furthermore, we discuss how bEVs could be targeted and manipulated for diverse therapeutic purposes.

Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) as Biomedical Tools and Their Relevance as Immune-Modulating Agents against H. pylori Infections: Current Status and Future Prospects

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are lipid-membrane-bounded nanoparticles that are released from Gram-negative bacteria via vesiculation of the outer membrane. They have vital roles in different biological processes and recently, they have received increasing attention as possible candidates for a broad variety of biomedical applications. In particular, OMVs have several characteristics that enable them to be promising candidates for immune modulation against pathogens, such as their ability to induce the host immune responses given their resemblance to the parental bacterial cell. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common Gram-negative bacterium that infects half of the world's population and causes several gastrointestinal diseases such as peptic ulcer, gastritis, gastric lymphoma, and gastric carcinoma. The current H. pylori treatment/prevention regimens are poorly effective and have limited success. This review explores the current status and future prospects of OMVs in biomedicine with a special focus on their use as a potential candidate in immune modulation against H. pylori and its associated diseases. The emerging strategies that can be used to design OMVs as viable immunogenic candidates are discussed.

Interactions between extracellular vesicles and microbiome in human diseases: New therapeutic opportunities

In recent decades, accumulating research on the interactions between microbiome homeostasis and host health has broadened new frontiers in delineating the molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and developing novel therapeutic strategies. By transporting proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and metabolites in their versatile bioactive molecules, extracellular vesicles (EVs), natural bioactive cell-secreted nanoparticles, may be key mediators of microbiota-host communications. In addition to their positive and negative roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes, there is considerable evidence to implicate EVs secreted by bacteria (bacterial EVs [BEVs]) in the onset and progression of various diseases, including gastrointestinal, respiratory, dermatological, neurological, and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as in cancer. Moreover, an increasing number of studies have explored BEV-based platforms to design novel biomedical diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Hence, in this review, we highlight the recent advances in BEV biogenesis, composition, biofunctions, and their potential involvement in disease pathologies. Furthermore, we introduce the current and emerging clinical applications of BEVs in diagnostic analytics, vaccine design, and novel therapeutic development.

Emerging role of bacterial outer membrane vesicle in gastrointestinal tract

Bacteria form a highly complex ecosystem in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In recent years, mounting evidence has shown that bacteria can release nanoscale phospholipid bilayer particles that encapsulate nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and other molecules. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by microorganisms and can transport a variety of important factors, such as virulence factors, antibiotics, HGT, and defensive factors produced by host eukaryotic cells. In addition, these EVs are vital in facilitating communication between microbiota and the host. Therefore, bacterial EVs play a crucial role in maintaining the GI tract's health and proper functioning. In this review, we outlined the structure and composition of bacterial EVs. Additionally, we highlighted the critical role that bacterial EVs play in immune regulation and in maintaining the balance of the gut microbiota. To further elucidate progress in the field of intestinal research and to provide a reference for future EV studies, we also discussed the clinical and pharmacological potential of bacterial EVs, as well as the necessary efforts required to understand the mechanisms of interaction between bacterial EVs and gut pathogenesis.

Vaccine development for bacterial pathogens: Advances, challenges and prospects

The advent and use of antimicrobials have played a key role in treating potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, improving health, and saving the lives of millions of people worldwide. However, the emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens has been a significant health challenge that has compromised the ability to prevent and treat a wide range of infectious diseases that were once treatable. Vaccines offer potential as a promising alternative to fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) infectious diseases. Vaccine technologies include reverse vaccinology, structural biology methods, nucleic acid (DNA and mRNA) vaccines, generalised modules for membrane antigens, bioconjugates/glycoconjugates, nanomaterials and several other emerging technological advances that are offering a potential breakthrough in the development of efficient vaccines against pathogens. This review covers the opportunities and advancements in vaccine discovery and development targeting bacterial pathogens. We reflect on the impact of the already-developed vaccines targeting bacterial pathogens and the potential of those currently under different stages of preclinical and clinical trials. More importantly, we critically and comprehensively analyse the challenges while highlighting the key indices for future vaccine prospects. Finally, the issues and concerns of AMR for low-income countries (sub-Saharan Africa) and the challenges with vaccine integration, discovery and development in this region are critically evaluated.

Computational prediction of extracellular loops of the Por39 outer membrane porin of Rhodospirillum rubrum suitable for epitope surface display

Outer membrane porins from Gram-negative bacteria are established vehicles for the production of vaccines. Typically, one or more of the extracellular loops of a porin are replaced by a peptide encoding a foreign epitope, and recombinant porin is then used as a vaccine. However, many host strains are potentially pathogenic, and also produce toxic lipopolysaccharide (LPS), both of which are undesirable for safety reasons. In contrast, the outer membrane porins from photosynthetic, purple bacteria have no known human pathology and produce only weakly toxic LPS. The purple bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum is well-suited for large-scale biotechnology, and expresses a major porin, Por39, which is a candidate for a vaccine platform. Unfortunately, the atomic structure of Por39 could not be determined so far, and Por39 shows only a weak homology to other porins of known structure, making the assignment of external loops difficult. Here, we construct a knowledge-based model of Por39 using secondary structure constraints from both the low sequence homology to the 2POR porin from Rhodobacter capsulatus, for which the X-ray structure is known, as well as those obtained using secondary structure prediction packages. The secondary structure predictions were used to constrain a three-dimensional model created using the I-TASSER package. The modelling procedure was validated by predicting the structure of 2POR using the same strategy, but excluding the 2POR X-ray structure from the I-TASSER database. The final Por39 model allows three external loops to be defined precisely, and could also be used to obtain an initial model for the closely related Por41 using molecular modelling. These structures provide a good starting point for the insertion of epitopes with vaccine potential.

A modular vaccine platform enabled by decoration of bacterial outer membrane vesicles with biotinylated antigens

Engineered outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Gram-negative bacteria are a promising technology for the creation of non-infectious, nanoparticle vaccines against diverse pathogens. However, antigen display on OMVs can be difficult to control and highly variable due to bottlenecks in protein expression and localization to the outer membrane of the host cell, especially for bulky and/or complex antigens. Here, we describe a universal approach for avidin-based vaccine antigen crosslinking (AvidVax) whereby biotinylated antigens are linked to the exterior of OMVs whose surfaces are remodeled with multiple copies of a synthetic antigen-binding protein (SNAP) comprised of an outer membrane scaffold protein fused to a biotin-binding protein. We show that SNAP-OMVs can be readily decorated with a molecularly diverse array of biotinylated subunit antigens, including globular and membrane proteins, glycans and glycoconjugates, haptens, lipids, and short peptides. When the resulting OMV formulations are injected in mice, strong antigen-specific antibody responses are observed that depend on the physical coupling between the antigen and SNAP-OMV delivery vehicle. Overall, these results demonstrate AvidVax as a modular platform that enables rapid and simplified assembly of antigen-studded OMVs for application as vaccines against pathogenic threats.

Bio-Inspired Drug Delivery Systems: From Synthetic Polypeptide Vesicles to Outer Membrane Vesicles

Nanomedicine is a broad field that focuses on the development of nanocarriers to deliver specific drugs to targeted sites. A synthetic polypeptide is a kind of biomaterial composed of repeating amino acid units that are linked by peptide bonds. The multiplied amphiphilicity segment of the polypeptide could assemble to form polypeptide vesicles (PVs) under suitable conditions. Different from polypeptide vesicles, outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical buds of the outer membrane filled with periplasmic content, which commonly originate from Gram-negative bacteria. Owing to their biodegradability and excellent biocompatibility, both PVs and OMVs have been utilized as carriers in delivering drugs. In this review, we discuss the recent drug delivery research based on PVs and OMVs. These related topics are presented: (1) a brief introduction to the production methods for PVs and OMVs; (2) a thorough explanation of PV- and OMV-related applications in drug delivery including the vesicle design and biological assessment; (3) finally, we conclude with a discussion on perspectives and future challenges related to the drug delivery systems of PVs and OMVs.

Emerging role of microbiota derived outer membrane vesicles to preventive, therapeutic and diagnostic proposes

The role of gut microbiota and its products in human health and disease is profoundly investigated. The communication between gut microbiota and the host involves a complicated network of signaling pathways via biologically active molecules generated by intestinal microbiota. Some of these molecules could be assembled within nanoparticles known as outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Recent studies propose that OMVs play a critical role in shaping immune responses, including homeostasis and acute inflammatory responses. Moreover, these OMVs have an immense capacity to be applied in medical research, such as OMV-based vaccines and drug delivery. This review presents a comprehensive overview of emerging knowledge about biogenesis, the role, and application of these bacterial-derived OMVs, including OMV-based vaccines, OMV adjuvants characteristics, OMV vehicles (in conjugated vaccines), cancer immunotherapy, and drug carriers and delivery systems. Moreover, we also highlight the significance of the potential role of these OMVs in diagnosis and therapy.

Activation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and CD4+ T cell differentiation by outer membrane vesicles of periodontal pathogens

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released from gram-negative bacteria harbor diverse molecules to communicate with host cells. In this study, we evaluated the OMVs of periodontal pathogens for their effects on the activation of dendritic cells and CD4⁺ T cell differentiation. OMVs of Porphyromonas gingivalis ATCC 33277, Treponema denticola ATCC 33521, and Tannerella forsythia ATCC 43037 (‘red complex’ pathogens) were isolated by density gradient ultracentrifugation. Mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) were treated with OMVs, and OMV-primed BMDCs were cocultured with naïve CD4⁺ T cells to analyze the polarization of effector helper T cells. The OMVs upregulated maturation markers, including MHC class II, CD80, CD86, and CD40, on BMDCs. OMVs of P. gingivalis and T. forsythia induced the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-23, and IL-12p70 in BMDCs. In T. denticola OMV-primed BMDCs, proinflammatory cytokines were poorly detected, which may be attributed to posttranslational degradation due to the highly proteolytic nature of OMVs. In cocultures of naïve CD4⁺ T cells with OMV-primed BMDCs, OMVs of P. gingivalis and T. denticola induced the differentiation of Th17 cells, whereas T. forsythia OMVs induced Th1 cell differentiation. These results demonstrate that OMVs derived from the ‘red complex’ periodontal pathogens induce maturation of BMDCs and differentiation of naïve CD4⁺ T cells to Th1 or Th17 cells.

Involvement of Bacterial Extracellular Membrane Nanovesicles in Infectious Diseases and Their Application in Medicine

Bacterial extracellular membrane nanovesicles (EMNs) are attracting the attention of scientists more and more every year. These formations are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, among which, of course, the leading role is occupied by infectious diseases, the causative agents of which are a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A separate field for the study of the role of EMN is cancer. Extracellular membrane nanovesicles nowadays have a practical application as vaccine carriers for immunization against many infectious diseases. At present, the most essential point is their role in stimulating immune response to bacterial infections and tumor cells. The possibility of nanovesicles' practical use in several disease treatments is being evaluated. In our review, we listed diseases, focusing on their multitude and diversity, for which EMNs are essential, and also considered in detail the possibilities of using EMNs in the therapy and prevention of various pathologies.

Preliminary Analysis of Cervical Cancer Immunotherapy

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologically malignancies worldwide. Although vaccine and cervical cancer screening including human papillomavirus testing, cytology testing, and colposcopy have developed rapidly in recent years, effectively reducing cervical cancer mortality, cervical cancer remains a malignancy with higher female fatality rates worldwide and has a high risk for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. The combination of platinum-paclitaxel and chemotherapy, possibly with the addition of bevacizumab, is currently the treatment of choice for advanced cervical cancer, but it only has remission purposes. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies are needed for both locally advanced and metastatic cervical cancer. Here, we make a preliminary analysis of cervical cancer immunotherapy.

Bacterial extracellular vesicle applications in cancer immunotherapy

Cancer therapy is undergoing a paradigm shift toward immunotherapy focusing on various approaches to activate the host immune system. As research to identify appropriate immune cells and activate anti-tumor immunity continues to expand, scientists are looking at microbial sources given their inherent ability to elicit an immune response. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) are actively studied to control systemic humoral and cellular immune responses instead of using whole microorganisms or other types of extracellular vesicles (EVs). BEVs also provide the opportunity as versatile drug delivery carriers. Unlike mammalian EVs, BEVs have already made it to the clinic with the meningococcal vaccine (Bexsero®). However, there are still many unanswered questions in the use of BEVs, especially for chronic systemically administered immunotherapies. In this review, we address the opportunities and challenges in the use of BEVs for cancer immunotherapy and provide an outlook towards development of BEV products that can ultimately translate to the clinic.

Gut bacterial extracellular vesicles: important players in regulating intestinal microenvironment

Intestinal microenvironment dysbiosis is one of the major causes of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. Microbiota-based strategies have excellent clinical potential in the treatment of repetitive and refractory diseases; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. Identification of the internal regulatory mechanism of the gut microbiome and the interaction mechanisms involving bacteria-host is essential to achieve precise control of the gut microbiome and obtain effective clinical data. Gut bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles (GBEVs) are lipid bilayer nanoparticles secreted by the gut microbiota and are considered key players in bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host communication. This review focusses on the role of GBEVs in gut microbiota interactions and bacteria-host communication, and the potential clinical applications of GBEVs.

Outer Membrane Vesicles: An Emerging Vaccine Platform

Vaccine adjuvants are substances that improve the immune capacity of a recombinant vaccine to a great extent and have been in use since the early 1900s; they are primarily short-lived and initiate antigen activity, mainly an inflammatory response. With the developing technologies and innovation, early options such as alum were modified, yet the inorganic nature of major vaccine adjuvants caused several side effects. Outer membrane vesicles, which respond to the stressed environment, are small nano-sized particles secreted by gram-negative bacteria. The secretory nature of OMV gives us many benefits in terms of infection bioengineering. This article aims to provide a detailed overview of bacteria's outer membrane vesicles (OMV) and their potential usage as adjuvants in making OMV-based vaccines. The OMV adjuvant-based vaccines can be a great benefactor, and there are ongoing trials for formulating OMV adjuvant-based vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. This study emphasizes engineering the OMVs to develop better versions for safety purposes. This article will also provide a gist about the advantages and disadvantages of such vaccines, along with other aspects.

Recent advances in biological membrane-based nanomaterials for cancer therapy

Nanomaterials have shown significant advantages in cancer theranostics, owing to their enhanced permeability and retention effect in tumors and multi-function integration capability. Biological membranes, which are collected from various cells and their secreted membrane structures, can further be applied to establish membrane-based nanomaterials with perfect biocompatibility, tumor-targeting capacity, immune-stimulatory activity and adjustable versatility for cancer therapy. In this review, according to their source, membranes are divided into four groups: (1) cell membranes; (2) secretory membranes; (3) engineered membranes; and (4) hybrid membranes. First, cell membranes can be extracted from natural cells of the body, tumor tissue cells, and bacteria. Furthermore, secretory membranes mainly refer to exosome, apoptotic body and bacterial outer membrane vesicle, and membranes with specific protein/peptide expression or therapeutic inclusions are obtained from engineered cells. Finally, a hybrid membrane will be constituted by two or more of the abovementioned membranes. These membranes can form drug-carrying nanoparticles themselves or coat multi-functional nanoparticles, further realizing efficient cancer therapy. We summarize the application of various biological membrane-based nanomaterials in cancer therapy and point out their advantages as well as the places that need to be further improved, providing systematic knowledge of this field and a strategy for further optimization.

Nanovaccines for Cancer Prevention and Immunotherapy: An Update Review

Simple Summary

Cancer vaccines are a promising immunotherapy-based agents used in cancer therapy. However, monotherapy with these vaccines does not have the sufficient effectiveness in clinical settings. To overcome this challenge, researchers designed nanosystems that increase cancer vaccine efficacy and effectiveness by improving the vaccine's half-life and durability, inducing TME reprogram-ming, and enhancing the anti-tumor immunity with minimum toxicity. This review summarized the structure and different types of cancer nanovaccines and their mechanisms of action in cancer therapy. Moreover, the advantages and drawbacks of these vaccines are discussed.

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy has received more and more attention from cancer researchers over the past few decades. Various methods such as cell therapy, immune checkpoint blockers, and cancer vaccines alone or in combination therapies have achieved relatively satisfactory results in cancer therapy. Among these immunotherapy-based methods, cancer vaccines alone have not yet had the necessary efficacy in the clinic. Therefore, nanomaterials have increased the efficacy and ef-fectiveness of cancer vaccines by increasing their half-life and durability, promoting tumor mi-croenvironment (TME) reprogramming, and enhancing their anti-tumor immunity with minimal toxicity. In this review, according to the latest studies, the structure and different types of nanovaccines, the mechanisms of these vaccines in cancer treatment, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these nanovaccines are discussed.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles as bioactive nanocarriers for drug delivery: Advances and perspectives

Nanosized extracellular vesicles derived from bacteria contain diverse cargo and transfer intercellular bioactive molecules to cells. Due to their favorable intercellular interactions, cell membrane-derived bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) have great potential to become novel drug delivery platforms. In this review, we summarize the biogenesis mechanism and compositions of various BEVs. In addition, an overview of effective isolation and purification techniques of BEVs is provided. In particular, we focus on the application of BEVs as bioactive nanocarriers for drug delivery. Finally, we summarize the advances and challenges of BEVs after providing a comprehensive discussion in each section. We believe that a deeper understanding of BEVs will open new avenues for their exploitation in drug delivery applications.

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Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) are excellent nanomaterials as drug delivery systems.

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The unique nanosized structures and biofunctions of BEVs are attractive for their use as nanomedicine platforms.

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BEVs have been investigated as biotherapeutics due to their loading capacity, ease of modification and industrialization.

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This review provides new insights of BEVs in drug delivery applications, discussing potential opportunities and challenges.

Engineered extracellular vesicles and their mimetics for cancer immunotherapy

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous membranous vesicles secreted by living cells that are involved in many physiological and pathological processes as intermediaries for intercellular communication and molecular transfer. Recent studies have shown that EVs can regulate the occurrence and development of tumors by transferring proteins, lipids and nucleic acids to immune cells as signaling molecules. As a new diagnostic biomarker and drug delivery system, EVs have broad application prospects in immunotherapy. In addition, the breakthrough of nanotechnology has promoted the development and exploration of engineered EVs for immune-targeted therapy. Herein, we review the uniqueness of EVs in immune regulation and the engineering strategies used for immunotherapy and highlight the logic of their design through typical examples. The present situation and challenges of clinical transformation are discussed, and the development prospects of EVs in immunotherapy are proposed. The goal of this review is to provide new insights into the design of immune-regulatory EVs and expand their application in cancer immunotherapy.

Advances in Salmonella Typhimurium-based drug delivery system for cancer therapy

The clinical application of bacteria-mediated immune therapy dates back over a century ago. In recent years, these strategies have advanced greatly with the rapid development of synthetic biology and nanotechnology. Several bacterial therapies have been developed allowing for more effective treatments for cancers, and Salmonella is one of the most studied bacterial species. Here, we review the advances in the bioengineered and functionalized Salmonella Typhimurium strains as drug delivery carries, including the various genetic circuits for programing these bacteria, the surface modification strategies using nanoparticles or other therapeutic agents for richer and broader features, and the bacterial component-based vehicles for cancer immunotherapy. This review will include the promises and challenges of these optimized Salmonella-based delivery systems and their related clinical trials. Ultimately, we hope to provide a spark of thought in the field of drug delivery and find important crosstalk between bacteria-mediated therapy and other different forms of treatments.

Extracellular Vesicles: Recent Insights Into the Interaction Between Host and Pathogenic Bacteria

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized lipid particles released by virtually every living cell. EVs carry bioactive molecules, shuttle from cells to cells and transduce signals, regulating cell growth and metabolism. Pathogenic bacteria can cause serious infections via a wide range of strategies, and host immune systems also develop extremely complex adaptations to counteract bacterial infections. As notable carriers, EVs take part in the interaction between the host and bacteria in several approaches. For host cells, several strategies have been developed to resist bacteria via EVs, including expelling damaged membranes and bacteria, neutralizing toxins, triggering innate immune responses and provoking adaptive immune responses in nearly the whole body. For bacteria, EVs function as vehicles to deliver toxins and contribute to immune escape. Due to their crucial functions, EVs have great application potential in vaccines, diagnosis and treatments. In the present review, we highlight the most recent advances, application potential and remaining challenges in understanding EVs in the interaction between the host and bacteria.

Vaccination against Bacterial Infections: Challenges, Progress, and New Approaches with a Focus on Intracellular Bacteria

Many bacterial infections are major health problems worldwide, and treatment of many of these infectious diseases is becoming increasingly difficult due to the development of antibiotic resistance, which is a major threat. Prophylactic vaccines against these bacterial pathogens are urgently needed. This is also true for bacterial infections that are still neglected, even though they affect a large part of the world’s population, especially under poor hygienic conditions. One example is typhus, a life-threatening disease also known as “war plague” caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, which could potentially come back in a war situation such as the one in Ukraine. However, vaccination against bacterial infections is a challenge. In general, bacteria are much more complex organisms than viruses and as such are more difficult targets. Unlike comparatively simple viruses, bacteria possess a variety of antigens whose immunogenic potential is often unknown, and it is unclear which antigen can elicit a protective and long-lasting immune response. Several vaccines against extracellular bacteria have been developed in the past and are still used successfully today, e.g., vaccines against tetanus, pertussis, and diphtheria. However, while induction of antibody production is usually sufficient for protection against extracellular bacteria, vaccination against intracellular bacteria is much more difficult because effective defense against these pathogens requires T cell-mediated responses, particularly the activation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. These responses are usually not efficiently elicited by immunization with non-living whole cell antigens or subunit vaccines, so that other antigen delivery strategies are required. This review provides an overview of existing antibacterial vaccines and novel approaches to vaccination with a focus on immunization against intracellular bacteria.

Envelope virus-mimetic nanovaccines by hybridizing bioengineered cell membranes with bacterial vesicles

Emerging threats of rapid spread highly lethal infectious diseases highlight the urgent need of vaccine development. Here, we describe the preparation of envelope virus-mimetic nanovaccines by hybridizing bioengineered cell membranes with bacterial vesicles. Membranes acquired from bioengineered cells overexpressing viral antigens are fused with bacterial outer membrane vesicles to develop hybrid nanovesicles. Because of the presence of intact viral antigenic proteins with natural conformation bound to lipid bilayer and pathogen-associated molecular patterns, hybrid nanovesicles can strikingly promote antigen uptake, processing and presentation by dendritic cells. Immunization with envelope virus-mimetic nanovaccines shows significantly enhanced maturation and activation of dendritic cells, which elicit robust humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. By virtue of their artificial characteristic and absence of loaded adjuvants, these biomimetic nanovaccines exhibit favorable biosafety. Our work demonstrates the effectiveness of envelope virus-mimetic nanovaccines to boost antigen-specific immunity and proposes a simple yet versatile platform to prepare antiviral vaccines.

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Nanovaccines were hybridized by bioengineered cell membranes and bacterial vesicles

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Nanovaccines possessed intact viral antigens with natural conformation

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Nanovaccines promoted antigen uptake, processing, and presentation by dendritic cells

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Nanovaccines elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses in mice

A novel bioactive postbiotics: from microbiota-derived extracellular nanoparticles to health promoting

In recent years, the emerging concern regarding safety issues associated with live bacterial cells is enhancing the interest in using cell components and metabolites derived from microbiota. Therefore, the term "postbiotics" is increasingly found in food microbiology, food scientific and commercial products. Postbiotics is defined as non-viable microorganisms or their components that provide benefits to the host. Many in vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that beneficial microbiota-generated extracellular nanoparticles (NPs) confer unique health promoting functions to the intestinal local and systemic effects, which can be considered as a novel postbiotics. Meanwhile, the postbiotics-NPs is a protective complex, delivering bioactive components to reach distant tissues and organs at high concentrations. These properties demonstrate that postbiotics-NPs may contribute to the improvement of host health by regulating specific gut microbiota and physiological functions, while the exact mechanisms are not fully elucidated. This review highlights the current understanding of postbiotics-NPs functional properties and mechanisms of health benefits, especially focusing on the interactions in gut microbiota and host, functions in human health and potential applications in future functional food and biomedical fields.

Nano dimensions/adjuvants in COVID-19 vaccines

A favorable outcome of the COVID-19 crisis might be achieved with massive vaccination. The proposed vaccines contain several different vaccine active principles (VAP), such as inactivated virus, antigen, mRNA, and DNA, which are associated with either standard adjuvants or nanomaterials (NM) such as liposomes in Moderna's and BioNTech/Pfizer's vaccines. COVID-19 vaccine adjuvants may be chosen among liposomes or other types of NM composed for example of graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, micelles, exosomes, membrane vesicles, polymers, or metallic NM, taking inspiration from cancer nano-vaccines, whose adjuvants may share some of their properties with those of viral vaccines. The mechanisms of action of nano-adjuvants are based on the facilitation by NM of targeting certain regions of immune interest such as the mucus, lymph nodes, and zones of infection or blood irrigation, the possible modulation of the type of attachment of the VAP to NM, in particular VAP positioning on the NM external surface to favor VAP presentation to antigen presenting cells (APC) or VAP encapsulation within NM to prevent VAP degradation, and the possibility to adjust the nature of the immune response by tuning the physico-chemical properties of NM such as their size, surface charge, or composition. The use of NM as adjuvants or the presence of nano-dimensions in COVID-19 vaccines does not only have the potential to improve the vaccine benefit/risk ratio, but also to reduce the dose of vaccine necessary to reach full efficacy. It could therefore ease the overall spread of COVID-19 vaccines within a sufficiently large portion of the world population to exit the current crisis.

Biomimetic Nanoparticles Enabled by Cascade Cell Membrane Coating for Direct Cross-Priming of T Cells

Despite the activation of T lymphocytes by antigen-presenting cells being responsible for eliciting antigen-specific immune responses, their crosstalking suffers from temporospatial limitations and endogenous influencing factors, which restrict the generation of a strong antitumor immunity. Here, cascade cell membrane coating is reported to prepare biomimetic nanoparticles (BNs) that can manipulate the cross-priming of T cells. BNs are obtained from coating nanoparticulate substrates with cell membranes extracted from dendritic cells (DCs) that are pre-pulsed with cancer cell membrane-coated nanoparticles. With a DC membrane that presents an array of cancer cell membrane antigen epitopes, BNs inherit the intrinsic membrane function of DCs, which can directly cross-prime T cells and provoke robust yet antigen-specific antitumor responses in multiple mouse models. Combination with clinical anti-programmed death-1 antibodies demonstrates a robust way of BNs to achieve desirable tumor regression and survival rate. This work spotlights the impact of nanoparticles on direct cross-priming of T cells and supports a unique yet modulate platform for boosting an effective adaptive immunity for immunotherapy.

Cell/Bacteria-Based Bioactive Materials for Cancer Immune Modulation and Precision Therapy

Numerous clinical trials for cancer precision medicine research are limited due to the drug resistance, side effects, and low efficacy. Unsatisfactory outcomes are often caused by complex physiologic barriers and abnormal immune events in tumors, such as tumor target alterations and immunosuppression. Cell/bacteria-derived materials with unique bioactive properties have emerged as attractive tools for personalized therapy in cancer. Naturally derived bioactive materials, such as cell and bacterial therapeutic agents with native tropism or good biocompatibility, can precisely target tumors and effectively modulate immune microenvironments to inhibit tumors. Here, the recent advances in the development of cell/bacteria-based bioactive materials for immune modulation and precision therapy in cancer are summarized. Cell/bacterial constituents, including cell membranes, bacterial vesicles, and other active substances have inherited their unique targeting properties and antitumor capabilities. Strategies for engineering living cell/bacteria to overcome complex biological barriers and immunosuppression to promote antitumor efficacy are also summarized. Moreover, past and ongoing trials involving personalized bioactive materials and promising agents such as cell/bacteria-based micro/nano-biorobotics are further discussed, which may become another powerful tool for treatment in the near future.

A Novel Immunomodulator Delivery Platform Based on Bacterial Biomimetic Vesicles for Enhanced Antitumor Immunity

T cell activation-induced cell death (AICD) during tumor pathogenesis is a tumor immune escape process dependent on dendritic cells (DCs). Proper immune-modulatory therapies effectively inhibit tumor-specific CD8+ T cell exhaustion and enhance antitumor immune responses. Here, high-pressure homogenization is utilized to drive immunomodulator IL10-modified bacteria to extrude through the gap and self-assemble into bacterial biomimetic vesicles exposing IL10 (IL10-BBVs) on the surface with high efficiency. IL10-BBVs efficiently target DCs in tumor-draining lymph nodes and thus increase the interaction between IL10 on BBVs and IL10R on DCs to suppress AICD and mitigate CD8+ T cell exhaustion specific to tumor antigens. Two subcutaneous peripheral injections of IL10-BBVs 1 week apart in tumor-bearing mice effectively increase systemic and intratumoral proportions of CD8+ T cells to suppress tumor growth and metastasis. Tumor-specific antigen E7 is enclosed into the periplasm of IL10-BBVs (IL10-E7-BBVs) to realize concurrent actions of the immunomodulator IL10 and the tumor antigen human papillomavirus (HPV) 16E7 in lymph nodes, further enhancing the antitumor effects mediated by CD8+ T cells. The development of this modified BBV delivery platform will expand the application of bacterial membranes and provide novel immunotherapeutic strategies for tumor treatment.

Outer Membrane Vesicles Derived from Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Can Deliver Shigella flexneri 2a O-Polysaccharide Antigen To Prevent Shigella flexneri 2a Infection in Mice

Shigellosis has become a serious threat to health in many developing countries due to the severe diarrhea it causes. Shigella flexneri 2a is the principal species responsible for this endemic disease. Despite multiple attempts to design a vaccine against shigellosis, no effective vaccine has been developed yet. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is both an essential virulence factor and an antigen protective against Shigella, due to its outer domain, termed O-polysaccharide antigen. In the present study, S. flexneri 2a O-polysaccharide antigen was innovatively biosynthesized in Salmonella and attached to core-lipid A via the ligase WaaL, with purified outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) utilized as vaccine vectors. Here, we identified the expression of the heterologous O-antigen and have described the isolation, characterization, and immune protection efficiency of the OMV vaccine. Furthermore, the results of animal experiments indicated that immunization of mice with the OMV vaccine induced significant specific anti-Shigella LPS antibodies in the serum, with similar trends in IgA levels from vaginal secretions and fluid from bronchopulmonary lavage, both intranasally and intraperitoneally. The OMV vaccine derived from both routes of administration provided significant protection against virulent S. flexneri 2a infection, as judged by a serum bactericidal assay, opsonization assay, and challenge test. This vaccination strategy represents a novel and improved approach to control shigellosis by the combination of Salmonella glycosyl carrier lipid bioconjugation with OMVs. IMPORTANCEShigella, the cause of shigellosis or bacillary dysentery, is a major public health concern, especially for children in developing countries. An effective vaccine would control the spread of the disease to some extent. However, no licensed vaccine against Shigella infection in humans has so far been developed. The Shigella O-antigen polysaccharide is effective in stimulating the production of protective antibodies and so could represent a vaccine antigen candidate. In addition, bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have been used as antigen delivery platforms due to their nanoscale properties and ease of antigen delivery to trigger an immune response. Therefore, the present study provides a new strategy for vaccine design, combining a glycoconjugated vaccine with OMVs. The design concept of this strategy is the expression of Shigella O-antigen via the LPS synthesis pathway in recombinant Salmonella, from which the OMV vaccine is then isolated. Based on these findings, we believe that the novel vaccine design strategy in which polysaccharide antigens are delivered via bacterial OMVs will be effective for the development and clinical application of an effective Shigella vaccine.

Overproducing the BAM complex improves secretion of difficult-to-secrete recombinant autotransporter chimeras

Monomeric autotransporters have been used extensively to transport recombinant proteins or protein domains to the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria amongst others for antigen display. Genetic fusion of such antigens into autotransporters has yielded chimeras that can be used for vaccination purposes. However, not every fusion construct is transported efficiently across the cell envelope. Problems occur in particular when the fused antigen attains a relatively complex structure in the periplasm, prior to its translocation across the outer membrane. The latter step requires the interaction with periplasmic chaperones and the BAM (β-barrel assembly machinery) complex in the outer membrane. This complex catalyzes insertion and folding of β-barrel outer membrane proteins, including the β-barrel domain of autotransporters. Here, we investigated whether the availability of periplasmic chaperones or the BAM complex is a limiting factor for the surface localization of difficult-to-secrete chimeric autotransporter constructs. Indeed, we found that overproduction of in particular the BAM complex, increases surface display of difficult-to-secrete chimeras. Importantly, this beneficial effect appeared to be generic not only for a number of monomeric autotransporter fusions but also for fusions to trimeric autotransporters. Therefore, overproduction of BAM might be an attractive strategy to improve the production of recombinant autotransporter constructs.

GMMA-Based Vaccines: The Known and The Unknown

Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) are outer membrane vesicles derived from Gram-negative bacteria engineered to provide an over-vesiculating phenotype, which represent an attractive platform for the design of affordable vaccines. GMMA can be further genetically manipulated to modulate the risk of systemic reactogenicity and to act as delivery system for heterologous polysaccharide or protein antigens. GMMA are able to induce strong immunogenicity and protection in animal challenge models, and to be well-tolerated and immunogenic in clinical studies. The high immunogenicity could be ascribed to their particulate size, to their ability to present to the immune system multiple antigens in a natural conformation which mimics the bacterial environment, as well as to their intrinsic self-adjuvanticity. However, GMMA mechanism of action and the role in adjuvanticity are still unclear and need further investigation. In this review, we discuss progresses in the development of the GMMA vaccine platform, highlighting successful applications and identifying knowledge gaps and potential challenges.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles as a Versatile Tool in Vaccine Research and the Fight against Antimicrobial Resistance

Gram-negative bacteria include a number of pathogens that cause disease in humans and animals. Although antibiotics are still effective in treating a considerable range of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, the alarming increase of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) induced by excessive use of antibiotics has raised global concerns. Therefore, alternative strategies must be developed to prevent and treat bacterial infections and prevent the advent of a postantibiotic era. Vaccines, one of the greatest achievements in the history of medical science, hold extraordinary potential to prevent bacterial infections and thereby reduce the need for antibiotics. Novel bacterial vaccines are urgently needed, however, and outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), naturally produced by Gram-negative bacteria, represent a promising and versatile tool that can be employed as adjuvants, antigens, and delivery platforms in the development of vaccines against Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we provide an overview of the many roles OMVs can play in vaccine development and the mechanisms behind these applications. Methods to improve OMV yields and a comparison of different strategies for OMV isolation aiming at cost-effective production of OMV-based vaccines are also reviewed.

RBD-Modified Bacterial Vesicles Elicited Potential Protective Immunity against SARS-CoV-2

The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection threatens human health. In this study, we used high-pressure homogenization technology not only to efficiently drive the bacterial membrane to produce artificial vesicles but also to force the fusion protein ClyA-receptor binding domain (RBD) to pass through gaps in the bacterial membrane to increase the contact between ClyA-RBD and the membrane. Therefore, the load of ClyA-RBD on the membrane is substantially increased. Using this technology, we constructed a "ring-like" bacterial biomimetic vesicle (BBV) loaded with polymerized RBD (RBD-BBV). RBD-BBVs injected subcutaneously can accumulate in lymph nodes, promote antigen uptake and processing, and elicit SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. In conclusion, we evaluated the potential of this novel bacterial vesicle as a vaccine delivery system and provided a new idea for the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Ageing of the gut microbiome: Potential influences on immune senescence and inflammageing

Advancing age is accompanied by changes in the gut microbiota characterised by a loss of beneficial commensal microbes that is driven by intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as diet, medications, sedentary behaviour and chronic health conditions. Concurrently, ageing is accompanied by an impaired ability to mount a robust immune response, termed immunesenescence, and age-associated inflammation, termed inflammaging. The microbiome has been proposed to impact the immune system and is a potential determinant of healthy aging. In this review we summarise the knowledge on the impact of ageing on microbial dysbiosis, intestinal permeability, inflammaging, and the immune system and investigate whether dysbiosis of the gut microbiota could be a potential mechanism underlying the decline in immune function, overall health and longevity with advancing age. Furthermore, we examine the potential of altering the gut microbiome composition as a novel intervention strategy to reverse the immune ageing clock and possibly support overall good health during old age.

Outer membrane vesicles as versatile tools for therapeutic approaches

Budding of the bacterial surface results in the formation and secretion of outer membrane vesicles, which is a conserved phenomenon observed in Gram-negative bacteria. Recent studies highlight that these sphere-shaped facsimiles of the donor bacterium's surface with enclosed periplasmic content may serve multiple purposes for their host bacterium. These include inter- and intraspecies cell-cell communication, effector delivery to target cells and bacterial adaptation strategies. This review provides a concise overview of potential medical applications to exploit outer membrane vesicles for therapeutic approaches. Due to the fact that outer membrane vesicles resemble the surface of their donor cells, they represent interesting nonliving candidates for vaccine development. Furthermore, bacterial donor species can be genetically engineered to display various proteins and glycans of interest on the outer membrane vesicle surface or in their lumen. Outer membrane vesicles also possess valuable bioreactor features as they have the natural capacity to protect, stabilize and enhance the activity of luminal enzymes. Along these features, outer membrane vesicles not only might be suitable for biotechnological applications but may also enable cell-specific delivery of designed therapeutics as they are efficiently internalized by nonprofessional phagocytes. Finally, outer membrane vesicles are potent modulators of our immune system with pro- and anti-inflammatory properties. A deeper understanding of immunoregulatory effects provoked by different outer membrane vesicles is the basis for their possible future applications ranging from inflammation and immune response modulation to anticancer therapy.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles: Understanding biology promotes applications as nanopharmaceuticals

Extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated communication between proximal and distant cells is a highly conserved characteristic in all of the life domains, including bacteria. These vesicles that contain a variety of biomolecules, such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and small-molecule metabolites play a key role in the biology of bacteria. They are one of the key underlying mechanisms behind harmful or beneficial effects of many pathogenic, symbiont, and probiotic bacteria. These nanoscale EVs mediate extensive crosstalk with mammalian cells and deliver their cargos to the host. They are stable in physiological condition, can encapsulate diverse biomolecules and nanoparticles, and their surface could be engineered with available technologies. Based on favorable characteristics of bacterial vesicles, they can be harnessed for designing a diverse range of therapeutics and diagnostics for treatment of disorders including tumors and resistant infections. However, technical limitations for their production, purification, and characterization must be addressed in future studies.

Biomacromolecule-based photo-thermal agents for tumor treatment

Cancer treatment has become one of the biggest challenges in modern medicine. Recently, many efforts have been devoted to treat tumors by surgical resection, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. In comparison to these methods, photo-thermal therapy (PTT) with noninvasive, controllable, direct, and precise characteristics has received tremendous attention in eliminating tumor cells over the past decades. In particular, PTT based on biomacromolecule-based photo-thermal agents (PTAs) outperforms other systems with high photo-thermal efficiency, simple coating, and low immunogenicity. Considering the unique advantages of biomacromolecule-based PTAs in tumor treatment, it is necessary to summarize the recent progress in the field of biomacromolecule-based PTAs for tumor treatment. Herein, this minireview outlines recent progress in the fabrication and applications of biomacromolecule-based PTAs. Within this framework, various types of biomacromolecule-based PTAs are highlighted, including cell-based agents, protein-based agents, nucleotide-based agents, and polysaccharide-based PTAs. In each section, the functional design, photo-thermal effects, and potential clinical applications of each type of PTA are discussed. Finally, a brief perspective for the development of biomacromolecule-based PTAs is presented.

Microbiota-host communications: Bacterial extracellular vesicles as a common language

Both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria release extracellular vesicles (EVs) that contain components from their mother cells. Bacterial EVs are similar in size to mammalian-derived EVs and are thought to mediate bacteria–host communications by transporting diverse bioactive molecules including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and metabolites. Bacterial EVs have been implicated in bacteria–bacteria and bacteria–host interactions, promoting health or causing various pathologies. Although the science of bacterial EVs is less developed than that of eukaryotic EVs, the number of studies on bacterial EVs is continuously increasing. This review highlights the current state of knowledge in the rapidly evolving field of bacterial EV science, focusing on their discovery, isolation, biogenesis, and more specifically on their role in microbiota–host communications. Knowledge of these mechanisms may be translated into new therapeutics and diagnostics based on bacterial EVs.