Modulating Antibacterial Immunity via Bacterial Membrane-Coated
Nanoparticles
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Abstract
Synthetic nanoparticles coated with
cellular membranes have been increasingly explored to harness natural
cell functions toward the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Herein, we report on a unique bacterial membrane-coated nanoparticle
system as a new and exciting antibacterial vaccine. Using <i>Escherichia coli</i> as a model pathogen, we collect bacterial
outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and successfully coat them onto small
gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a diameter of 30 nm. The resulting
bacterial membrane-coated AuNPs (BM-AuNPs) show markedly enhanced
stability in biological buffer solutions. When injected subcutaneously,
the BM-AuNPs induce rapid activation and maturation of dendritic cells
in the lymph nodes of the vaccinated mice. In addition, vaccination
with BM-AuNPs generates antibody responses that are durable and of
higher avidity than those elicited by OMVs only. The BM-AuNPs also
induce an elevated production of interferon gamma (INFγ) and
interleukin-17 (IL-17), but not interleukin-4 (IL-4), indicating its
capability of generating strong Th1 and Th17 biased cell responses
against the source bacteria. These observed results demonstrate that
using natural bacterial membranes to coat synthetic nanoparticles
holds great promise for designing effective antibacterial vaccines