title: Use of a gel-forming dipeptide derivative as a carrier for antigen presentation.
abstract: A dipeptide of the formula Fmoc-Leu-Asp and some other related dipeptides were synthesized in solution by standard methods. When such peptides are dissolved in water at concentrations below 1% at 100 degrees C and cooled below 60 degrees C they form turbid solutions and eventually viscoelastic gels at lower temperatures. Such gels are thermoreversible and can also be disrupted by mechanical agitation. At a concentration of 2 mg/ml the peptide Fmoc-Leu-Asp forms an aqueous gel at 60 degrees C with a shear modulus of 80 Pa measured at a frequency of 1 rad/s. Peptide solutions undergo an abrupt increase in light scattering between 1 and 1.5 mg/ml at both 23 and 60 degrees C. By analogy with previous observations of other systems, this increase appears to be due to the formation of filamentous micelles and the aggregation of filaments into a three-dimensional network. When low molecular weight adamantanamine derivatives, which are inherently non-antigenic antiviral drugs, were incorporated into the Fmoc-Leu-Asp gel and injected into rabbits, high titre specific antibodies were efficiently produced without the need for additional adjuvant. Both the physical properties of the gel and its effect on the antigenicity of low molecular weight compounds suggest a number of practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vegners
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shestakova
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kalvinsh
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ezzell
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Janmey
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D008027:Light; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011817:Rabbits; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004151:Dipeptides; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels