Self-Assembled Nanofibers Elicit Potent HPV16 E7-Specific Cellular Immunity And Abolish Established TC-1 Graft Tumor

Chemical and biological conjugation strategies for the development of multivalent protein vaccine nanoparticles

The development of subunit vaccine platforms has been of considerable interest due to their good safety profile and ability to be adapted to new antigens, compared to other vaccine typess. Nevertheless, subunit vaccines often lack sufficient immunogenicity to fully protect against infectious diseases. A wide variety of subunit vaccines have been developed to enhance antigen immunogenicity by increasing antigen multivalency, as well as stability and delivery properties, via presentation of antigens on protein nanoparticles. Increasing multivalency can be an effective approach to provide a potent humoral immune response by more strongly engaging and clustering B cell receptors (BCRs) to induce activation, as well as increased uptake by antigen presenting cells and their subsequent T cell activation. Proper orientation of antigen on protein nanoparticles is also considered a crucial factor for enhanced BCR engagement and subsequent immune responses. Therefore, various strategies have been reported to decorate highly repetitive surfaces of protein nanoparticle scaffolds with multiple copies of antigens, arrange antigens in proper orientation, or combinations thereof. In this review, we describe different chemical bioconjugation methods, approaches for genetic fusion of recombinant antigens, biological affinity tags, and enzymatic conjugation methods to effectively present antigens on the surface of protein nanoparticle vaccine scaffolds.

Advanced Nanomedicine for High-Risk HPV-Driven Head and Neck Cancer

The incidence of high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV)-driven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is on the rise globally. HR-HPV-driven HNSCC displays molecular and clinical characteristics distinct from HPV-uninvolved cases. Therapeutic strategies for HR-HPV-driven HNSCC are under investigation. HR-HPVs encode the oncogenes E6 and E7, which are essential in tumorigenesis. Meanwhile, involvement of E6 and E7 provides attractive targets for developing new therapeutic regimen. Here we will review some of the recent advancements observed in preclinical studies and clinical trials on HR-HPV-driven HNSCC, focusing on nanotechnology related methods. Materials science innovation leads to great improvement for cancer therapeutics including HNSCC. This article discusses HPV-E6 or -E7- based vaccines, based on plasmid, messenger RNA or peptide, at their current stage of development and testing as well as how nanoparticles can be designed to target and access cancer cells and activate certain immunology pathways besides serving as a delivery vehicle. Nanotechnology was also used for chemotherapy and photothermal treatment. Short interference RNA targeting E6/E7 showed some potential in animal models. Gene editing by CRISPR-CAS9 combined with other treatments has also been assessed. These advancements have the potential to improve the outcome in HR-HPV-driven HNSCC, however breakthroughs are still to be awaited with nanomedicine playing an important role.

Self-adjuvanting cancer nanovaccines

Nanovaccines, a new generation of vaccines that use nanoparticles as carriers and/or adjuvants, have been widely used in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Nanovaccines have sparked considerable interest in cancer therapy due to a variety of advantages, including improved access to lymph nodes (LN), optimal packing and presentation of antigens, and induction of a persistent anti-tumor immune response. As a delivery system for cancer vaccines, various types of nanoparticles have been designed to facilitate the delivery of antigens and adjuvants to lymphoid organs and antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Particularly, some types of nanoparticles are able to confer an immune-enhancing capability and can themselves be utilized for adjuvant-like effect for vaccines, suggesting a direction for a better use of nanomaterials and the optimization of cancer vaccines. However, this role of nanoparticles in vaccines has not been well studied. To further elucidate the role of self-adjuvanting nanovaccines in cancer therapy, we review the mechanisms of antitumor vaccine adjuvants with respect to nanovaccines with self-adjuvanting properties, including enhancing cross-presentation, targeting signaling pathways, biomimicking of the natural invasion process of pathogens, and further unknown mechanisms. We surveyed self-adjuvanting cancer nanovaccines in clinical research and discussed their advantages and challenges. In this review, we classified self-adjuvanting cancer nanovaccines according to the underlying immunomodulatory mechanism, which may provide mechanistic insights into the design of nanovaccines in the future.

Interaction Between Ropivacaine and a Self-Assembling Peptide: A Nanoformulation for Long-Acting Analgesia

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Recombinant VLPs empower RBM peptides showing no immunogenicity in native SARS-COV-2 protein to elicit a robust neutralizing antibody response

New SARS-COV-2 vaccine strategies are still urgently needed, especially for emerging virus mutations and variants. In this study, we focused on analyzing the antigenicity and vaccine potency of linear peptide epitopes located in receptor binding motif (RBM) of spike (S) protein. Nine 12 to 16-mer overlapping peptides (P1-P9) were synthesized chemically and coupled to carrier protein KLH for the immunization in mice. Four of identified peptides were further engineered to present on the surface of recombinant Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) virus-like particles (VLPs) respectively. Antisera obtained from VLPs -immunized mice demonstrated strong reactivity and affinity to S1 protein or inactivated virus and neutralizing activity against virus infection in vitro. This study indicates that recombinant VLPs empower peptides which display underprivileged antigenicity in native protein to elicit high levels of neutralizing antibody, providing potential epitope candidates and an effective delivery strategy for the development of a multi-epitope vaccine.

Peptide-Protein Interactions: From Drug Design to Supramolecular Biomaterials

The self-recognition and self-assembly of biomolecules are spontaneous processes that occur in Nature and allow the formation of ordered structures, at the nanoscale or even at the macroscale, under thermodynamic and kinetic equilibrium as a consequence of specific and local interactions. In particular, peptides and peptidomimetics play an elected role, as they may allow a rational approach to elucidate biological mechanisms to develop new drugs, biomaterials, catalysts, or semiconductors. The forces that rule self-recognition and self-assembly processes are weak interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attractions, and van der Waals forces, and they underlie the formation of the secondary structure (e.g., α-helix, β-sheet, polyproline II helix), which plays a key role in all biological processes. Here, we present recent and significant examples whereby design was successfully applied to attain the desired structural motifs toward function. These studies are important to understand the main interactions ruling the biological processes and the onset of many pathologies. The types of secondary structure adopted by peptides during self-assembly have a fundamental importance not only on the type of nano- or macro-structure formed but also on the properties of biomaterials, such as the types of interaction, encapsulation, non-covalent interaction, or covalent interaction, which are ultimately useful for applications in drug delivery.

Insights into Nanomedicine for Immunotherapeutics in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the head and neck

Immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade benefit only a portion of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The multidisciplinary field of nanomedicine is emerging as a promising strategy to achieve maximal anti-tumor effect in cancer immunotherapy and to turn non-responders into responders. Various methods have been developed to deliver therapeutic agents that can overcome bio-barriers, improve therapeutic delivery into the tumor and lymphoid tissues and reduce adverse effects in normal tissues. Additional modification strategies also have been employed to improve targeting and boost cytotoxic T cell-based immune responses. Here, we review the state-of-the-art use of nanotechnologies in the laboratory, in advanced preclinical phases as well as those running through clinical trials assessing their advantages and challenges.

HPV Involvement in the Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Treatment in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Active human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been identified as an important additional risk factor and seems to be associated with a better prognosis in non-drinker and non-smoker young patients with oropharyngeal SCC. The better response of the immune system against the HPV-induced HNSCC is suspected as a potential explanation for the better prognosis of young patients. To further assess this hypothesis, our review aims to shed light the current knowledge about the impact of HPV infection on the immune response in the context of HNSCC, focusing on the innate immune system, particularly highlighting the role of macrophages, Langerhans and myeloid cells, and on the adaptative immune system, pointing out the involvement of T regulatory, T CD8 and T CD4 lymphocytes. In addition, we also review the preventive (HPV vaccines) and therapeutic (checkpoint inhibitors) strategies against HPV-related HNSCC, stressing the use of anti-CTLA4, PD-L1, PD-L2 antibodies alone and in combination with other agents able to modulate immune responses.

Local mucosal immunization of self-assembled nanofibers elicits robust antitumor effects in an orthotopic model of mouse genital tumors

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the identified causative agent of cervical cancer. Current therapeutic HPV vaccine candidates lack significant clinical efficacy, which can be attributed to insufficient activation of effector cells, lack of effective modification of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and the limitations of applied tumor models for preclinical vaccine evaluation. Here, a mouse model of orthotopic genital tumors was used to assess the effect of self-assembled nanofibers on eliciting a robust antitumor response via local mucosal immunization. A candidate vaccine was obtained by fusing HPV16 E7_44-62 to the self-assembling peptide Q11, which was assembled into nanofibers in a salt solution. Mice bearing an established genital TC-1 tumor were immunized with nanofibers through the intravaginal, intranasal, or subcutaneous route. Mucosal vaccination, especially via the intravaginal route, was more effective for suppressing tumor growth than subcutaneous immunization. The potential underlying mechanisms include promoting the systemic generation and tumor accumulation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes expressing high levels of interferon (IFN)-γ or granzyme-B, and reducing the tumor infiltration of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The levels of IFN-γ, the chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10, and CXCR3⁺CD8⁺ T cells were significantly increased in tumor tissues, which may account for the improved recruitment of effector T cells into the tumor. Local mucosal immunization of nanofibers via the intravaginal route represents a new and promising vaccination strategy for the treatment of genital tumor lesions such as cervical cancer.