title: Antigenic peptide nanofibers elicit adjuvant-free CD8⁺ T cell responses.
abstract: Vaccines that elicit robust CD8⁺ T cell responses are desirable for protection against infectious diseases and cancers. However, most vaccine adjuvants fail to elicit robust CD8⁺ T cell responses without inflammation and associated toxicity. We recently reported that self-assembling peptides that form nanofibers in physiological buffers elicited strong adjuvant-free and antigen-specific antibody responses in mice. However, whether or not such nanofibers likewise can elicit strong CD8⁺ T cell responses is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the self-assembling peptide Q11 conjugated to a CD8⁺ T cell epitope of ovalbumin (Q11-OVA), elicits strong antigen-specific primary and recall responses, and in a vaccination regimen protects against subsequent infection. Importantly, we show that these antigenic peptide nanofibers do not persist as an inflammatory antigen depot at the injection site. Our results demonstrate for the first time that self-assembling peptides may be useful as carriers for vaccines where CD8⁺ T cell-mediated protection is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Chesson
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Rush University Cancer Center, Developmental Center for AIDS Research, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago 60612, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Erica J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Huelsmann
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Rush University Cancer Center, Developmental Center for AIDS Research, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago 60612, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Lacek
authors.affiliation: Division Hematology/Oncology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago 60611, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Kohlhapp
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Rush University Cancer Center, Developmental Center for AIDS Research, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago 60612, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Rush University Cancer Center, Developmental Center for AIDS Research, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago 60612, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Arman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nabatiyan
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology/Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Rush University Cancer Center, Developmental Center for AIDS Research, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago 60612, IL, USA. Electronic address: Andrew_Zloza@rush.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zloza
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, TX, USA; Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, TX, USA. Electronic address: jarudra@utmb.edu.
authors.forename: Jai S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rudra
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D057139:Nanofibers; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D010455:Peptides; D010047:Ovalbumin
keywords: Adjuvant; CD8(+) T cell; Nanofiber; Peptide; Self-assembly; Vaccine