Journal
NANOMATERIALS
Volume 10, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/nano10101981
Keywords
nanovaccine; fibrils; self-assembly; immune response; immunization; toll-like receptor; TLR2; 6; influenza virus; self-assembling peptides; cross-β -sheet
Categories
Funding
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC) [108517]
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) [RGPN-2016-06532, RGPIN-2018-06209]
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Protein fibrils characterized with a cross-beta-sheet quaternary structure have gained interest as nanomaterials in biomedicine, including in the design of subunit vaccines. Recent studies have shown that by conjugating an antigenic determinant to a self-assembling beta-peptide, the resulting supramolecular assemblies act as an antigen delivery system that potentiates the epitope-specific immune response. In this study, we used a ten-mer self-assembling sequence (I-10) derived from an amyloidogenic peptide to biophysically and immunologically characterize a nanofibril-based vaccine against the influenza virus. The highly conserved epitope from the ectodomain of the matrix protein 2 (M2e) was elongated at the N-terminus of I-10 by solid phase peptide synthesis. The chimeric M2e-I-10 peptide readily self-assembled into unbranched, long, and twisted fibrils with a diameter between five and eight nm. These cross-beta nanoassemblies were cytocompatible and activated the heterodimeric Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/6. Upon mice subcutaneous immunization, M2e-fibrils triggered a robust anti-M2e specific immune response, which was dependent on self-assembly and did not require the use of an adjuvant. Overall, this study describes the efficacy of cross-beta fibrils to activate the TLR 2/6 and to stimulate the epitope-specific immune response, supporting usage of these proteinaceous assemblies as a self-adjuvanted delivery system for antigens.
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