1 research outputs found
Enhanced Immunostimulating Activity of Lactobacilli-Mimicking Materials by Controlling Size
The design and synthesis of materials
capable of activating the
immune system in a safe manner is of great interest in immunology
and related fields. Lactobacilli activate the innate immune system
of a host when acting as probiotics. Here, we constructed lactobacilli-mimicking
materials in which polysaccharide–peptidoglycan complexes (PS–PGs)
derived from lactobacilli were covalently conjugated to the surfaces
of polymeric microparticles with a wide variety of sizes, ranging
from 200 nm to 3 μm. The artificial lactobacilli successfully
stimulated macrophages without cytotoxicity. Importantly, we found
that the size of artificial lactobacilli strongly influenced their
immunostimulating activities, and that artificial lactobacilli of
1 μm exhibited 10-fold higher activity than natural lactobacilli.
One major advantage of the artificial lactobacilli is facile control
of size, which cannot be changed in natural lactobacilli. These findings
provide new insights into the design of materials for immunology as
well as the molecular biology of lactobacillus