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Despite the success of currently authorized vaccines for the reduction of severe COVID-19 disease risk, rapidly emerging viral variants continue to drive pandemic waves of infection, resulting in numerous global public health challenges. Progress will depend on future advances in prophylactic vaccine activity, including advancement of candidates capable of generating more potent induction of cross-reactive T cells and durable cross-reactive antibody responses. Here we evaluated an Amphiphile (AMP) adjuvant, AMP-CpG, admixed with SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain (RBD) immunogen, as a lymph node-targeted protein subunit vaccine (ELI-005) in mice and non-human primates (NHPs). AMP-mediated targeting of CpG DNA to draining lymph nodes resulted in comprehensive local immune activation characterized by extensive transcriptional reprogramming, inflammatory proteomic milieu, and activation of innate immune cells as key orchestrators of antigen-directed adaptive immunity. Prime-boost immunization with AMP-CpG in mice induced potent and durable T cell responses in multiple anatomical sites critical for prophylactic efficacy and prevention of severe disease. Long-lived memory responses were rapidly expanded upon re-exposure to antigen. In parallel, RBD-specific antibodies were long-lived, and exhibited cross-reactive recognition of variant RBD. AMP-CpG-adjuvanted prime-boost immunization in NHPs was safe and well tolerated, while promoting multi-cytokine-producing circulating T cell responses cross-reactive across variants of concern (VOC). Expansion of RBD-specific germinal center (GC) B cells in lymph nodes correlated to rapid seroconversion with variant-specific neutralizing antibody responses exceeding those measured in convalescent human plasma. These results demonstrate the promise of lymph-node adjuvant-targeting to coordinate innate immunity and generate robust adaptive responses critical for vaccine efficacy.

While T cell receptor (TCR)-modified T cell therapies have shown promise against solid tumors, overall therapeutic benefits in clinical practice have been modest due in part to suboptimal T cell persistence and activation in vivo, alongside the possibility of tumor antigen escape. In this study, we demonstrate an approach to enhance the in vivo persistence and activation of TCR-T cells through combination with Amphiphile (AMP)-vaccination including cognate TCR-T peptides. AMP-modification improves lymph node targeting of conjugated tumor immunogens and adjuvants, thereby coordinating a robust T cell-priming endogenous immune response. Vaccine combination with TCR-T cell therapy provided simultaneous in vivo invigoration of adoptively transferred TCR-T cells and in situ priming of the endogenous anti-tumor T cell repertoire. The resulting induction of an adoptive and endogenous anti-tumor effect led to durable responses in established murine solid tumors refractory to TCR-T cell monotherapy. Protection against recurrence was associated with antigen spreading to additional tumor-associated antigens not targeted by vaccination. Enhanced anti-tumor efficacy was further correlated with pro-inflammatory lymph node transcriptional reprogramming and increased antigen presenting cell maturation, resulting in TCR-T cell expansion and functional enhancement in lymph nodes and solid tumor parenchyma without lymphodepletion. In vitro evaluation of AMP-peptides with matched human TCR-T cells targeting NY-ESO-1, mutant KRAS, and HPV16 E7 illustrated the clinical potential of AMP-vaccination to enhance human TCR-T cell proliferation, activation, and anti-tumor activity. Taken together, these studies provide rationale and evidence to support clinical evaluation of the combination of AMP-vaccination with TCR-T cell therapies to augment anti-tumor activity.SummaryAMP-vaccination targets the lymph nodes to enhance TCR-T cell therapy resulting in solid tumor eradication and durable protection against recurrence.

BackgroundGenetic engineering of T cells to express anti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR-T cells) has been FDA approved for the treatment of refractory/relapsing acute lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. With more patients receiving treatment with CAR-T cells it has been observed that approximately 10–20% of patients fail to enter remission after therapy,1 and 30–50% of patients who achieve remission with anti-CD19 CAR T cells have disease relapse.2 In prior studies, CAR-binding amphiphile (AMP)-peptides were shown to effectively localize in lymph nodes (LN), where they decorate endogenous antigen-presenting cells (APC) and stimulate CAR signaling to promote potent CAR-T responses against solid tumors.3 In this study, we describe how CD19 mimotope peptides specific for FMC63-based CARs can be modified with AMP technology to enhance peptide accumulation in LNs, enable presentation on APCs to CAR-Ts, and promote activation and effector functionality of CAR-T cells.MethodsWe performed phage-screening and enrichment for CD19 surrogate peptides recognized by FMC-63-scFv. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was utilized to evaluate the affinity of the peptides to immobilized FMC-63. AMP versions of peptides were generated. In vitro, human dendritic cells (DCs) were preconditioned with AMP-CD19 or soluble peptides and cocultured with autologous T cells engineered to express CD19 CARs (FMC63-28z and FMC63-41BBz). Markers for activation, proliferation, cytotoxicity, and effector functions were evaluated. In vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the biodistribution of peptides. Luciferase-expressing murine CAR-T cells were engineered to evaluate the expansion and biodistribution of CAR-T cells in combination with AMP or soluble regimens.ResultsWe found surrogate CD19 peptide mimotopes that bind to FMC-63 with different affinities evaluated by ELISA and SPR. Assessment in human autologous DC/CAR-T cell cocultures demonstrated that AMP-CD19 peptides can decorate DCs effectively and promote potent activation (OX40, 41BB, CD69), proliferation, cytokine production (IFNγ, TNFα, and IL2), cytotoxicity (CD107a), and phenotypic enhancement of CD19-specific CAR-T cells. Assessment in vivo showed that AMPs are effectively delivered to LN where endogenous APCs are decorated to promote the activity of murine CAR-T cells.ConclusionsIn vitro, AMP modification of CAR-binding peptide mimotopes induces activation, cytotoxicity, and effector functions of CAR-T cells. These AMP-peptides effectively accumulate in LN and boost CAR-T activation and expansion in vivo. This platform can potentially be utilized as a mechanism to expand and functionally enhance CAR-T cells in vivo for blood and solid tumors.ReferencesMaude SL et al. Tisagenlecleucel in children and young adults with B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 2018;378:439–448.Park JH et al. Long-term follow-up of CD19 CAR therapy in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med 2018;378:449–459.Ma L et al. Enhanced CAR–T cell activity against solid tumors by vaccine boosting through the chimeric receptor. Science 2019;365(6449):162–168.Ethics ApprovalAll animal experiments in this study were performed in accordance with the approval of IACUC Protocol CR-0039.

Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic’s public health, economic, and social impacts mandate urgent development of effective vaccines to contain or eradicate infection. To that end, we evaluated a novel amphiphile (AMP) vaccine adjuvant, AMP-CpG, composed of diacyl lipid-modified CpG, admixed with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike-2 receptor binding domain (Spike RBD) protein for immunization (ELI 005) in two mouse models. AMP immunogens are efficiently delivered to lymph nodes, where innate and adaptive immune responses are generated. Methods Female, 6 to 8-week-old C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice and 37-week-old C57BL/6J mice received two or more doses of benchmark (alum or CpG) or AMP-modified vaccines, comprised of Spike RBD protein and AMP-CpG adjuvant, subcutaneously injected into the tail base in two-week intervals. Antigen was dose spared to determine if AMP-CpG would maintain the immune response. Cellular immune responses were determined via ELISpot analysis of IFNγ production by splenocytes, intracellular cytokine staining of peripheral blood and lung-resident T-cells, and flowcytometric bead array analysis of Th1/2/17 cytokines. Humoral immune responses were determined via blood serum ELISAs to determine sera antibody binding titers, and pseudoviral neutralization assays for comparison to human convalescent serum. Results Compared to alum, AMP immunization induced 29-fold higher antigen-specific T cells which produced multiple Th1 cytokines and trafficked into lung parenchyma. Antibody responses favored Th1 isotypes (IgG2bc, IgG3) and potently neutralized Spike-2-ACE2 receptor binding, with titers >100-fold higher than the natural immune response from convalescent COVID-19 patients; responses were maintained despite 10-fold dose-reduction in Spike antigen. Both cellular and humoral immune responses were preserved in aged mice. Conclusions ELI-005 exhibits the qualities of an optimal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which should (1) induce robust and durable CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses, (2) elicit high magnitude neutralizing antibodies, (3) produce Th1 bias in the elicited antibody and T cell responses, (4) potentially expand pre-existing cross-reactive T cells, (5) enable dose-sparing of required immunogens to improve the speed and cost of broad vaccination campaigns, and (6) be efficacious in elderly populations. These advantages merit clinical translation to SARS-CoV-2 and other protein subunit vaccines.

Background Subunit vaccines targeting tumor antigens have shown limited capacity for expanding cytotoxic T-cells against tumors in the clinic. Especially in the case of KRAS-driven tumors, responses elicited by conventional vaccines have been exceedingly weak. For molecular immunogens including peptides and oligonucleotides, inefficient delivery to immune cells residing in the lymphatics is a significant challenge limiting their ability to induce cancer-directed immune responses of sufficient strength and functionality to impact tumors. Improving the targeting of immunogens to lymph nodes (LN), where resident immune cells potently orchestrate immunity, can substantially amplify their ability to induce effective tumor-directed immunity. Here, we demonstrate such an approach for significantly enhancing mKRAS-directed T-cell responses by precisely targeting antigens and adjuvants directly to the draining LN through a simple one-step conjugation to albumin-binding lipids. These amphiphilic conjugates (‘Amphiphiles’, or AMP) then ‘hitch-hike’ on albumin into the LNs where they elicit strong immune responses. LN accumulation of structurally optimized amphiphiles in mice is greatly improved over soluble equivalents. Methods C57BL/6J mice received two or more doses of benchmark or amphiphile-modified vaccines, comprised of mKRAS peptide and CpG adjuvant, subcutaneously injected into the tail base in two-week intervals. Immunological readouts were performed 7 days post dosing. For ELISpot analysis of IFNγ and Granzyme B production and flowcytometric bead array analysis of Th1/2 cytokines, splenocytes were harvested and re-stimulated with antigen overnight. In vivo, cytolytic capabilities of antigen-specific T-cells were evaluated by pulsing CFSE-stained splenocytes from naive mice with mKRAS antigen and injecting these cells intravenously into immunized mice. Recovery of CFSE-labeled target cells from immunized mice was performed 24h later and analyzed flowcytometrically. Results We show robust immune responses that yield strong activation against all common mutations in the mKRAS protein compared to low or undetectable responses generated by soluble or benchmark treatments. Further, this response is composed of CD4+ as well as CD8+ T-cells resulting in the production of high levels of TH1-associated cytokines upon re-stimulation with mKRAS-specific peptides in vitro. In vivo, robust cytolytic function towards mKRAS-presenting targets can be measured in T-cells. Conclusions By targeting immunogens directly and precisely to the LNs, the Amphiphile platform can significantly amplify the potency of subunit vaccines. In the case of mKRAS, substantially improved cytolytic immune responses represent a promising therapeutic strategy for targeting mKRAS-driven tumor growth and survival in a large fraction of human tumors. Furthermore, this platform technology is simple, rapid and scalable for broad clinical application.

Lymph node–targeting adjuvant AMP-CpG enhances SARS-CoV-2 RBD vaccine-induced cellular and humoral immune responses., The profound consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mandate urgent development of effective vaccines. Here, we evaluated an Amphiphile (AMP) vaccine adjuvant, AMP-CpG, composed of diacyl lipid–modified CpG, admixed with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike-2 receptor binding domain protein as a candidate vaccine (ELI-005) in mice. AMP modification efficiently delivers CpG to lymph nodes, where innate and adaptive immune responses are generated. Compared to alum, immunization with AMP-CpG induced >25-fold higher antigen-specific T cells that produced multiple T helper 1 (TH1) cytokines and trafficked into lung parenchyma. Antibody responses favored TH1 isotypes (IgG2c and IgG3) and potently neutralized Spike-2-ACE2 receptor binding, with titers 265-fold higher than natural convalescent patient COVID-19 responses; T cell and antibody responses were maintained despite 10-fold dose reduction in Spike antigen. Both cellular and humoral immune responses were preserved in aged mice. These advantages merit clinical translation to SARS-CoV-2 and other protein subunit vaccines.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has led to public health, economic, and social consequences that mandate urgent development of effective vaccines to contain or eradicate infection. To that end, we evaluated a novel amphiphile (AMP) vaccine adjuvant, AMP-CpG, composed of diacyl lipid-modified CpG, admixed with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike-2 receptor binding domain protein as a candidate vaccine (ELI-005) in mice. AMP immunogens are efficiently delivered to lymph nodes, where innate and adaptive immune responses are generated. Compared to alum, AMP immunization induced >25-fold higher antigen-specific T cells which produced multiple Th1 cytokines and trafficked into lung parenchyma and respiratory secretions. Antibody responses favored Th1 isotypes (IgG2bc, IgG3) and potently neutralized Spike-2-ACE2 receptor binding, with titers 265-fold higher than the natural immune response from convalescent COVID-19 patients; responses were maintained despite 10-fold dose-reduction in Spike antigen. Both cellular and humoral immune responses were preserved in aged mice. These advantages merit clinical translation to SARS-CoV-2 and other protein subunit vaccines.

BackgroundClinical results from TCR-T Cell therapies demonstrate anti-tumor efficacy, although therapeutic benefits remain transient due to suboptimal T Cell functional persistence and tumor infiltration alongside antigen escape mechanisms.1 2 3 4 5 Amphiphile (AMP) vaccines improve lymph node targeting of cancer immunogens, stimulating an enhanced endogenous anti-tumor response.6 7 We describe an approach to generate robust and durable anti-tumor responses by combining AMP lymphatic targeting with TCR-T Cell therapy. AMP cognate peptides traffic to lymph nodes and improve TCR-T Cell activation, persistence, and function compared to soluble (SOL) peptide vaccination or TCR-T Cells alone, inducing a superior anti-tumor effect.MethodsC57BL/6J mice were subcutaneously implanted with B16F10 10 days prior to transduced pmel-1 T cell transfer or 75 days after T cell treatment for rechallenge experiments. Tumor-bearing mice received 5 doses, 2x/week of AMP-GP100/AMP-CpG, SOL-GP100/SOL-CpG, or PBS by tail-base vaccination. Caliper measurements determined tumor progression and overall survival. TCR-T Cell persistence was assessed bi-weekly through retro-orbital bleeds. Tumors and lymph nodes from treated mice were excised and analyzed by Nanostring for differential gene expression and flow cytometry for TCR-T Cell functional persistence and T cell epitope spread. Human T Cells (HTCs) and Dendritic Cells (DCs) were isolated from autologous PBMCs, transduced with KRAS-specific TCRs, and cultured with AMP-KRAS-peptide pulsed DCs before assaying T Cell boosting.ResultsWe demonstrate that AMP vaccination expands tumor specific TCR-T Cells in vivo up to 46-fold while enhancing the activation, cytokine secretion, and pro-inflammatory gene expression of tumor-infiltrating TCR-T Cells. Endogenous tumor-infiltrating T cells from AMP vaccinated mice produced up to 17-fold greater cytokine secretion following re-stimulation with non-targeted tumor epitopes. These results correspond to the eradication of established B16F10 tumors and a resistance to secondary tumor challenge in cured mice. Providing clinical relevance, HTCs transduced with KRAS-specific TCRs and boosted with AMP-KRAS-peptide pulsed DCs exhibited enhanced T cell activation, Th1 cytokine secretion, and cytolytic capacity compared to HTCs exposed to unlabeled DCs.ConclusionsAMP vaccination delivers cognate peptides to lymph nodes providing in vivo activation of tumor-specific TCR-T Cells which amplifies anti-tumor potency of such adoptively transferred cells. AMP vaccination significantly enhanced TCR-T Cell anti-tumor response and led to durable cures of solid tumors in an established, syngeneic tumor model. Additionally, AMP-peptide pulsed autologous DCs enhanced the function of clinically relevant KRAS-specific TCR-T cells in vitro. Taken together, these studies provide direct rationale and evidence for the combination of AMP vaccination with TCR-T Cell therapies to augment clinical responses.ReferencesRobbins PF, Morgan RA, Feldman SA, Yang JC, Sherry RM, Dudley ME, Wunderlich JR, Nahvi AV, Helman LJ, Mackall CL, et al. Tumor regression in patients with metastatic synovial cell sarcoma and melanoma using genetically engineered lymphocytes reactive with NY-ESO-1. J Clin Oncol 2011;29:917–924. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.32.2537.Rapoport AP, Stadtmauer EA, Binder-Scholl GK, Goloubeva O, Vogl DT, Lacey SF, Badros AZ, Garfall A, Weiss B, Finklestein J, et al. NY-ESO-1-specific TCR-engineered T cells mediate sustained antigen-specific antitumor effects in myeloma. Nat Med 2015;21:914–921. doi: 10.1038/nm.3910.Doran SL, Stevanovic S, Adhikary S, Gartner JJ, Jia L, Kwong MLM, Faquin WC, Hewitt SM, Sherry RM, Yang JC, et al. T-Cell Receptor Gene Therapy for Human Papillomavirus-Associated Epithelial Cancers: A First-in-Human, Phase I/II Study. J Clin Oncol 2019;37:2759–2768. doi: 10.1200/JCO.18.02424.Chandran SS, Klebanoff CA. T cell receptor-based cancer immunotherapy: Emerging efficacy and pathways of resistance. Immunol Rev 2019;290:127–147. doi: 10.1111/imr.12772.D’Angelo SP, Melchiori L, Merchant MS, Bernstein D, Glod J, Kaplan R, Grupp S, Tap WD, Chagin K, Binder GK, et al. Antitumor Activity Associated with Prolonged Persistence of Adoptively Transferred NY-ESO-1 (c259)T Cells in Synovial Sarcoma. Cancer Discov 2018;8:944–957. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-17-1417.H Liu, KD Moynihan, Y Zheng, GL Szeto, AV Li, B Huang, DS Van Egeren, C Park, DJ Irvine. Structure-based programming of lymph-node targeting in molecular vaccines. Nature 2014;507: 519–522. doi: 10.1038/nature12978.KD Moynihan, CF Opel, GL Szeto, A Tzeng, EF Zhu, JM Engreitz, RT Williams, K Rakhra, MH Zhang, AM Rothschilds, S Kumari, RL Kelly, BH Kwan, W Abraham, K Hu, NK Mehta, MJ Kauke, H Suh, JR Cochran, DA Lauffenburger, KD Wittrup, DJ Irvine. Eradication of large established tumors in mice by combination immunotherapy that engages innate and adaptive immune responses. Nat Med 2016; 22: 1402–1410. doi: 10.1038/nm.4200.

Microneedle vaccines mimic several aspects of cutaneous pathogen invasion by targeting antigen to skin-resident dendritic cells and triggering local inflammatory responses in the skin, which are correlated with enhanced immune responses. Here, we tested whether control over vaccine delivery kinetics can enhance immunity through further mimicry of kinetic profiles present during natural acute infections. An approach for the fabrication of silk/poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) composite microneedles composed of a silk tip supported on a PAA base is reported. On brief application of microneedle patches to skin, the PAA bases rapidly dissolved to deliver a protein subunit vaccine bolus, while also implanting persistent silk hydrogel depots into the skin for a low-level sustained cutaneous vaccine release over 1–2 weeks. Use of this platform to deliver a model whole-protein vaccine with optimized release kinetics resulted in >10-fold increases in antigen-specific T-cell and humoral immune responses relative to traditional parenteral needle-based immunization., Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI095109), United States. Dept. of Defense (Contract W911NF-13-D-0001), United States. Dept. of Defense (Contract W911NF-07-D0004)

DNA vaccines have many potential benefits but have failed to generate robust immune responses in humans. Recently, methods such as in vivo electroporation have demonstrated improved performance, but an optimal strategy for safe, reproducible, and pain-free DNA vaccination remains elusive. Here we report an approach for rapid implantation of vaccine-loaded polymer films carrying DNA, immune-stimulatory RNA, and biodegradable polycations into the immune-cell-rich epidermis, using microneedles coated with releasable polyelectrolyte multilayers. Films transferred into the skin following brief microneedle application promoted local transfection and controlled the persistence of DNA and adjuvants in the skin from days to weeks, with kinetics determined by the film composition. These “multilayer tattoo” DNA vaccines induced immune responses against a model HIV antigen comparable to electroporation in mice, enhanced memory T-cell generation, and elicited 140-fold higher gene expression in non-human primate skin than intradermal DNA injection, indicating the potential of this strategy for enhancing DNA vaccination.

Here we introduce a new approach for transcutaneous drug delivery, using microneedles coated with stabilized lipid nanocapsules for delivery of a model vaccine formulation. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microneedle arrays were coated with multilayer films via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of a biodegradable cationic poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) and negatively-charged interbilayer-crosslinked multilamellar lipid vesicles (ICMVs). To test the potential of these nanocapsule-coated microneedles for vaccine delivery, we loaded ICMVs with a protein antigen and the molecular adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA). Following application of microneedle arrays to the skin of mice for 5 minutes, (PBAE/ICMV) films were rapidly transferred from microneedle surfaces into the cutaneous tissue, and remained in the skin following removal of the microneedle arrays. Multilayer films implanted in the skin dispersed ICMV cargos in the treated tissue over the course of 24 hours in vivo, allowing for uptake of the lipid nanocapsules by antigen presenting cells (APCs) in the local tissue and triggering their activation in situ. Microneedle-mediated transcutaneous vaccination with ICMV-carrying multilayers promoted robust antigen-specific humoral immune responses with a balanced generation of multiple IgG isotypes, whereas bolus delivery of soluble or vesicle-loaded antigen via intradermal injection or transcutaneous vaccination with microneedles encapsulating soluble protein elicited weak, IgG1-biased humoral immune responses. These results highlight the potential of lipid nanocapsules delivered by microneedles as a promising platform for non-invasive vaccine delivery applications.

Transcutaneous drug delivery from planar skin patches is effective for small-molecule drugs and skin-permeable vaccine adjuvants. However, to achieve efficient delivery of vaccines and other macromolecular therapeutics into the skin, penetration of the stratum corneum is needed. Topically applied skin patches with micron-scale projections ('microneedles') pierce the upper layers of the skin and enable vaccines that are coated on or encapsulated within the microneedles to be dispersed into the skin. Although millimeter-scale syringes have shown promise for vaccine delivery in humans and technologies, such as the Dermaroller (Dermaroller, Wolfenbüttel, Germany), exist for creating microscale punctures in the skin for delivery of solutions of therapeutics, solid microprojection microneedles coated with dry vaccine formulations offer a number of valuable features for vaccination, including reduced risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission or needle-stick injury, the potential for vaccine administration by minimally trained personnel or even self administration and the use of solid-state vaccine formulations that may reduce or eliminate cold-chain requirements in vaccine distribution. Recent studies in mice have demonstrated the ability of microneedles to effectively deliver vaccines to the skin, eliciting protective immunity to influenza, hepatitis C and West Nile virus., Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI095109), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI096040), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI095985), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI078526), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (AI060354), United States. Dept. of Defense (Contract W911NF-07-D-0004)

Background Needle-free delivery has the potential to enhance vaccine efficacy and safety, as well as facilitate cost-effective global vaccine distribution and storage. To this end, microneedle arrays provide the ability for pain-free, safe, and convenient materials delivery through disruption of the outer layers of the skin to access potent immunecompetent cell populations residing within the epidermal/dermal tissues.

Transcutaneous administration has the potential to improve therapeutics delivery, providing an approach that is safer and more convenient than traditional alternatives, while offering the opportunity for improved therapeutic efficacy through sustained/controlled drug release. To this end, a microneedle materials platform is demonstrated for rapid implantation of controlled-release polymer depots into the cutaneous tissue. Arrays of microneedles composed of drug-loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microparticles or solid PLGA tips are prepared with a supporting and rapidly water-soluble poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) matrix. Upon application of microneedle patches to the skin of mice, the microneedles perforate the stratum corneum and epidermis. Penetration of the outer skin layers is followed by rapid dissolution of the PAA binder on contact with the interstitial fluid of the epidermis, implanting the microparticles or solid polymer microneedles in the tissue, which are retained following patch removal. These polymer depots remain in the skin for weeks following application and sustain the release of encapsulated cargos for systemic delivery. To show the utility of this approach the ability of these composite microneedle arrays to deliver a subunit vaccine formulation is demonstrated. In comparison to traditional needle-based vaccination, microneedle delivery gives improved cellular immunity and equivalent generation of serum antibodies, suggesting the potential of this approach for vaccine delivery. However, the flexibility of this system should allow for improved therapeutic delivery in a variety of diverse contexts., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Award AI095109), United States. Army Research Office (Contract W911NF-07-D-0004)

The ability to control the timing and order of release of different therapeutic drugs will play a pivotal role in improving patient care and simplifying treatment regimes in the clinic. The controlled sequential release of a broad range of small and macromolecules from thin film coatings offers a simple way to provide complex localized dosing in vivo. Here we show that it is possible to take advantage of the structure of certain nanomaterials to control release regimes from a scale of hours to months. Graphene oxide (GO) is a two-dimensional charged nanomaterial that can be used to create barrier layers in multilayer thin films, trapping molecules of interest for controlled release. Protein-loaded polyelectrolyte multilayer films were fabricated using layer-by-layer assembly incorporating a hydrolytically degradable cationic poly(β-amino ester) (Poly1) with a model protein antigen, ovalbumin (ova) in a bilayer architecture along with positively and negatively functionalized GO capping layers for the degradable protein films. Ova release without the GO layers takes place in less than 1 hour, but can be tuned to release from 30 to 90 days by varying the number of bilayers of functionalized GO in the multilayer architecture. We demonstrate that proteins can be released in sequence with multi-day gaps between the release of each species by incorporating GO layers between protein loaded layers. In vitro toxicity assays of the individual materials on proliferating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) indicated limited cytotoxic effects with HSCs able to survive for the full 10 days of normal culture in the presence of Poly1 and the GO sheets. This approach provides a new route for storage of therapeutics in a solid-state thin film for subsequent delivery in a time-controlled and sequential fashion.

Multilayer-coated microneedles achieve transcutaneous delivery of plasmid DNA to the viable epidermis. Cy3-labeled plasmid DNA encoding luciferase (yellow) is deposited on biodegradable microneedle arrays through multilayer self-assembly and then delivered to the skin by microneedle application to achieve colocalization with Langerhans dendritic cells (MHC II-GFP–green)., United States. Dept. of Defense (DAAD19- 02-D-0002), United States. Dept. of Defense (W911NF-07-D-0004), Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Biotechnology Training Program at MIT), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Investigator)

Harnessing the immune system for cancer treatment offers many advantages over traditional methods as the immune system can generate tumor-specific killer cells and long-term memory cells to prevent recurrence. The success of recent clinical trials using T cell therapies has proven the potential of immunotherapy, but the ex vivo generation of T cells in these trials is costly and labor-intensive. Here, we developed wholly synthetic, pathogen-mimicking nanocapsules, Interbilayer-Crosslinked Multilamellar Vesicles (ICMVs), to deliver antigens to the lymphoid system, which prime large tumor-specific CD8 T cell populations in vivo. ICMVs use bilayer-to-bilayer crosslinks in the walls of multi-lamellar lipid vesicles to create an easily manufacturable, highly stable virus-like particle to present antigens and/or adjuvants to immune cells. ICMV carrying HPV16 E6 and E7 full-length proteins were administered alone or co-encapsulated with TLR agonists to mice. CD8 T cell responses were assessed by tetramer staining and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) was done to assay functionality. Efficacy of ICMV treatment was demonstrated by monitoring tumor size and survival in C57BL/6 mice bearing a lethal dose of TC-1 tumor cells. ICMVs induced unprecedented antigen-specific CD8 T cell frequencies against HPV whole proteins even without added adjuvant. Repeat doses of ICMVs boosted CD8 responses resulting in 30% of the total CD8 T cell population in blood being E7-specific while treatment with free protein elicited 85% of established tumors was detected in preliminary experiments. These findings demonstrate the potential of ICMVs as a novel cancer immunotherapy platform for the in vivo generation of CD8 T cells. ICMV are a cost effective, easily manufactured and versatile strategy to generate T cells for immunotherapy. Citation Format: Adrienne V. Li, Jackson K. Eby, Peter C. DeMuth, Darrell J. Irvine. Novel synthetic vesicle for rapid in vivo expansion of CD8 T cells can significantly improve checkpoint inhibitor therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-227. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-227