title: Lentinan-Modified Carbon Nanotubes as an Antigen Delivery System Modulate Immune Response in Vitro and in Vivo.
abstract: Adjuvants enhance immunogenicity and sustain long-term immune responses. As vital components of vaccines, efficient adjuvants are highly desirable. Recent evidence regarding the potential of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to act as a support material has suggested that certain properties, such as their unique hollow structure, high specific surface area, and chemical stability, make CNTs desirable for a variety of antigen-delivery applications. Lentinan, a β-1,3-glucohexaose with β-1,6-branches that is extracted from the mushroom Lentinus edodes, is an effective immunostimulatory drug that has been clinically used in Japan and China, and recent studies have proved that specific beta-glucans can bind to various immune receptors. In this research, we covalently attached lentinan to multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and tested their ability to enhance immune responses as a vaccine delivery system. In vitro study results showed that the nanotube constructs could rapidly enter dendritic cells and carry large amounts of antigen. Moreover, maturation markers were significantly upregulated versus the control. Thus, lentinan-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (L-MWCNTs) were regarded as an effective intracellular antigen depot and a catalyzer that could induce phenotypic and functional maturation of dendritic cells. Furthermore, compared with L-MWCNTs (35 μg/mL), a corresponding concentration of carboxylic carbon nanotubes (C-MWCNTs, 31.8 μg/mL) and an equivalent concentration of lentinan (3.2 μg/mL) did not remarkably influence the immune reaction in vitro or in vivo. Hence, we can hypothesize that the capability of L-MWCNTs was a consequence of the increased intracellular quantity of lentinan grafted onto the nanotubes. Overall, our studies demonstrated that L-MWCNTs significantly increased antigen accumulation in the cells and potentiated cellular and humoral immunity. In conclusion, L-MWCNTs constitute a potential vaccine delivery system to enhance immunogenicity for therapeutic purposes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhenguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , Fuzhou 350002, PR China.
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , Fuzhou 350002, PR China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Ruonan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Sisi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Yee
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Yale
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University , Nanjing 210095, PR China.|College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , Fuzhou 350002, PR China.
authors.forename: Deyun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002681:China; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects*; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D007912:Lentinan / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000941:Antigens; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D007912:Lentinan
keywords: OVA; adjuvant; carbon nanotube; immune response; lentinan