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A Strategy for Selective Deletion of Autoimmunity-Related T Cells by pMHC-Targeted Delivery

Authors :
Shalom D. Goldberg
Nathan Felix
Michael McCauley
Ryan Eberwine
Lou Casta
Kathleen Haskell
Tricia Lin
Elizabeth Palovick
Donna Klein
Lori Getts
Robert Getts
Mimi Zhou
Pratima Bansal-Pakala
Vadim Dudkin
Source :
Pharmaceutics, Vol 13, Iss 10, p 1669 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are caused by immune system recognition of self-proteins and subsequent production of effector T cells that recognize and attack healthy tissue. Therapies for these diseases typically utilize broad immune suppression, which can be effective, but which also come with an elevated risk of susceptibility to infection and cancer. T cell recognition of antigens is driven by binding of T cell receptors to peptides displayed on major histocompatibility complex proteins (MHCs) on the cell surface of antigen-presenting cells. Technology for recombinant production of the extracellular domains of MHC proteins and loading with peptides to produce pMHCs has provided reagents for detection of T cell populations, and with the potential for therapeutic intervention. However, production of pMHCs in large quantities remains a challenge and a translational path needs to be established. Here, we demonstrate a fusion protein strategy enabling large-scale production of pMHCs. A peptide corresponding to amino acids 259–273 of collagen II was fused to the N-terminus of the MHC_II beta chain, and the alpha and beta chains were each fused to human IgG4 Fc domains and co-expressed. A tag was incorporated to enable site-specific conjugation. The cytotoxic drug payload, MMAF, was conjugated to the pMHC and potent, peptide-specific killing of T cells that recognize the collagen pMHC was demonstrated with tetramerized pMHC-MMAF conjugates. Finally, these pMHCs were incorporated into MMAF-loaded 3DNA nanomaterials in order to provide a biocompatible platform. Loading and pMHC density were optimized, and peptide-specific T cell killing was demonstrated. These experiments highlight the potential of a pMHC fusion protein-targeted, drug-loaded nanomaterial approach for selective delivery of therapeutics to disease-relevant T cells and new treatment options for autoimmune disease.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994923
Volume :
13
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Pharmaceutics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.2e31a379f8b44670a74707a7406eed86
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13101669