Molecular DNA dendron vaccines
Abstract
A foundational principle of rational vaccinology is that vaccine structure plays a critical role in determining therapeutic efficacy, but in order to establish fundamental, effective, and translatable vaccine design parameters, a highly modular and well-defined platform is required. Herein, we report a DNA dendron vaccine, a molecular nanostructure that consists of an adjuvant DNA strand that splits into multiple DNA branches with a varied number of conjugated peptide antigens that is capable of dendritic cell uptake, immune activation, and potent cancer killing. We leveraged the well-defined architecture and chemical modularity of the DNA dendron to study structure-function relationships that dictate molecular vaccine efficacy, particularly regarding the delivery of immune-activating DNA sequences and antigenic peptides on a single chemical construct. We investigated how adjuvant and antigen placement and number impact dendron cellular uptake and immune activation, in vitro. These parameters also played a significant role in raising a potent and specific immune response against target cancer cells. By gaining this structural understanding of molecular vaccines, DNA dendrons successfully treated a mouse cervical human papillomavirus TC-1 cancer model, in vivo, where the vaccine structure defined its efficacy; the top-performing design effectively reduced tumor burden (<150 mm 3 through day 30) and maintained 100% survival through 44 d after tumor inoculation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 25, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2215091120
Entities
People
- Chad Mirkin
- John P. Cavaliere
- Max E. Distler
- Michael Evangelopoulos
- Michelle H Teplensky
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Cancer Institute
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Northwestern University