Antigenic GM3 Lactone Mimetic Molecule Integrated Mannosylated Glycopeptide Nanofibers for the Activation and Maturation of Dendritic Cells

The ability of dendritic cells to coordinate innate and adaptive immune responses makes them essential targets for vaccination strategies. Presentation of specific antigens by dendritic cells is required for the activation of the immune system against many pathogens and tumors, and nanoscale materials can be functionalized for active targeting of dendritic cells. In this work, we integrated an immunogenic, carbohydrate melanoma-associated antigen-mimetic GM3-lactone molecule into mannosylated peptide amphiphile nanofibers to target dendritic cells through DC-SIGN receptor. Based on morphological and functional analyses, when dendritic cells were treated with peptide nanofiber carriers, they showed significant increase in antigen internalization and a corresponding increase in the surface expression of the activation and maturation markers CD86, CD83 and HLA-DR, in addition to exhibiting a general morphology consistent with dendritic cell maturation. These results indicate that mannosylated peptide amphiphile nanofiber carriers are promising candidates to target dendritic cells for antigen delivery. © 2017 American Chemical Society

Quaternization of Vinyl/Alkynyl Pyridine Enables Ultrafast Cysteine-Selective Protein Modification and Charge Modulation.

Quaternized vinyl- and alkynyl-pyridine reagents were shown to react in an ultrafast and selective manner with several cysteine-tagged proteins at near-stoichiometric quantities. We have demonstrated that this method can effectively create a homogenous antibody-drug conjugate that features a precise drug-to-antibody ratio of 2, which was stable in human plasma and retained its specificity towards Her2+ cells. Finally, the developed warhead introduces a +1 charge to the overall net charge of the protein, which enabled us to show that the electrophoretic mobility of the protein may be tuned through the simple attachment of a quaternized vinyl pyridinium reagent at the cysteine residues. We anticipate the generalized use of quaternized vinyl- and alkynyl-pyridine reagents not only for bioconjugation, but also as warheads for covalent inhibition and as tools to profile cysteine reactivity

Recent advances on smart glycoconjugate vaccines in infections and cancer

Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements in biomedical research preventing death and morbidity in many infectious diseases through the induction of pathogen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Currently, no effective vaccines are available for pathogens with a highly variable antigenic load, such as the human immunodeficiency virus or to induce cellular T-cell immunity in the fight against cancer. The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has reinforced the relevance of designing smart therapeutic vaccine modalities to ensure public health. Indeed, academic and private companies have ongoing joint efforts to develop novel vaccine prototypes for this virus. Many pathogens are covered by a dense glycan-coat, which form an attractive target for vaccine development. Moreover, many tumor types are characterized by altered glycosylation profiles that are known as “tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens”. Unfortunately, glycans do not provoke a vigorous immune response and generally serve as T-cell-independent antigens, not eliciting protective immunoglobulin G responses nor inducing immunological memory. A close and continuous crosstalk between glycochemists and glycoimmunologists is essential for the successful development of efficient immune modulators. It is clear that this is a key point for the discovery of novel approaches, which could significantly improve our understanding of the immune system. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in development of vaccines against glycan epitopes to gain selective immune responses and to provide an overview on the role of different immunogenic constructs in improving glycovaccine efficacy

Efficient and irreversible antibody-cysteine bioconjugation using carbonylacrylic reagents.

There is considerable interest in the development of chemical methods for the precise, site-selective modification of antibodies for therapeutic applications. In this protocol, we describe a strategy for the irreversible and selective modification of cysteine residues on antibodies, using functionalized carbonylacrylic reagents. This protocol is based on a thiol-Michael-type addition of native or engineered cysteine residues to carbonylacrylic reagents equipped with functional compounds such as cytotoxic drugs. This approach is a robust alternative to the conventional maleimide technique; the reaction is irreversible and uses synthetically accessible reagents. Complete conversion to the conjugates, with improved quality and homogeneity, is often achieved using a minimal excess (typically between 5 and 10 equiv.) of the carbonylacrylic reagent. Potential applications of this method cover a broad scope of cysteine-tagged antibodies in various formats (full-length IgGs, nanobodies) for the site-selective incorporation of cytotoxic drugs without loss of antigen-binding affinity. Both the synthesis of the carbonylacrylic reagent armed with a synthetic molecule of interest and the subsequent preparation of the chemically defined, homogeneous antibody conjugate can be achieved within 48 h and can be easily performed by nonspecialists. Importantly, the conjugates formed are stable in human plasma. The use of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis is recommended for monitoring the progression of the bioconjugation reactions on protein and antibody substrates with accurate resolution

Synthesis and study of a new bioorthogonal self-immolative linker based on the Grob fragmentation reaction

Cleavable linkers are designed to release the drug within or in the vicinity of the tumour cells upon a trigger stimulus. In recent years, there have been multiple reports of self-immolative cleavable linkers able to self-degrade in a spontaneous and irreversible manner through a cascade-elimination process. In general, this process is driven by an entropy increase and the formation of thermodynamically stable products and the control of the drug release is achieved by a stimulus such as an enzymatic cleavage of the linker that activates the self-immolative process. [1]We have designed and synthesized a new self-immolative bioorthogonal conditionally cleavable linker based on the Grob fragmentation that allowed the controlled release of sulfonate-containing compounds such as a dansyl group under physiological conditions. We have also tuned conveniently the pKa of the pushing group (amino group) using different substituents, leading to more efficient conversions at physiological pH and in some cases even at acidic pH, which is normally found in tumour environments. In addition, the Grob fragmentation takes place under physiological conditions in living cells, demonstrating the potential bioorthogonal applicability of the reaction. Based on these promising results, research is currently underway to incorporate this type of linker into antibodydrug conjugates for the targeted delivery of cytotoxic drugs and fluorophores

Emerging glyco-based strategies to steer immune responses

Glycan structures are common posttranslational modifications of proteins, which serve multiple important structural roles (for instance in protein folding), but also are crucial participants in cell–cell communications and in the regulation of immune responses. Through the interaction with glycan-binding receptors, glycans are able to affect the activation status of antigen-presenting cells, leading either to induction of pro-inflammatory responses or to suppression of immunity and instigation of immune tolerance. This unique feature of glycans has attracted the interest and spurred collaborations of glyco-chemists and glyco-immunologists to develop glycan-based tools as potential therapeutic approaches in the fight against diseases such as cancer and autoimmune conditions. In this review, we highlight emerging advances in this field, and in particular, we discuss on how glycan-modified conjugates or glycoengineered cells can be employed as targeting devices to direct tumor antigens to lectin receptors on antigen-presenting cells, like dendritic cells. In addition, we address how glycan-based nanoparticles can act as delivery platforms to enhance immune responses. Finally, we discuss some of the latest developments in glycan-based therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells to achieve targeting of tumor-associated glycan-specific epitopes, as well as the use of glycan moieties to suppress ongoing immune responses, especially in the context of autoimmunity

Recent advances on smart glycoconjugate vaccines in infections and cancer

Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements in biomedical research preventing death and morbidity in many infectious diseases through the induction of pathogen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Currently, no effective vaccines are available for pathogens with a highly variable antigenic load, such as the human immunodeficiency virus or to induce cellular T-cell immunity in the fight against cancer. The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has reinforced the relevance of designing smart therapeutic vaccine modalities to ensure public health. Indeed, academic and private companies have ongoing joint efforts to develop novel vaccine prototypes for this virus. Many pathogens are covered by a dense glycan-coat, which form an attractive target for vaccine development. Moreover, many tumor types are characterized by altered glycosylation profiles that are known as “tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens”. Unfortunately, glycans do not provoke a vigorous immune response and generally serve as T-cell-independent antigens, not eliciting protective immunoglobulin G responses nor inducing immunological memory. A close and continuous crosstalk between glycochemists and glycoimmunologists is essential for the successful development of efficient immune modulators. It is clear that this is a key point for the discovery of novel approaches, which could significantly improve our understanding of the immune system. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in development of vaccines against glycan epitopes to gain selective immune responses and to provide an overview on the role of different immunogenic constructs in improving glycovaccine efficacy