Related Experiment Videos
Liposomes with incorporated MHC class II/peptide complexes as antigen presenting vesicles for specific T cell
A J van Rensen1, M H Wauben, M C Grosfeld-Stulemeyer
1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), The Netherlands. a.rensen@pharm.uu.nl
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to design a well-characterized liposomal carrier system for multivalent antigen presentation in order to activate T cells.
Methods:
MHC class II molecules were loaded with peptide and subsequently reconstituted into liposomes. A FACS assay was developed to monitor peptide loading and MHC class II incorporation in the liposomes. For in vitro testing of the resulting MHC class II/peptide liposomes, a T cell hybridoma assay was employed.
Results:
The FACS assay provided a qualitative means to visualize the amount of incorporated MHC class II and peptide molecules that were oriented in the appropriate way for antigen presentation to the T cells. Interestingly, when MHC class II molecules were loaded with the appropriate peptide prior to liposome incorporation, such liposomes were fully capable of inducing IL-2 production of a T cell hybridoma.
Conclusions:
This is the first article showing that MHC class II/peptide liposomes can serve as 'artificial antigen presenting cells' for activation of a CD4+ T cell hybridoma. As compared to soluble MHC class II/peptide complexes, the multivalency of liposomal complexes may be an important advantage when studying possible applications in immunotherapy.