Effect of glycoamphiphiles on the solubilization and dendritic cell uptake of a lipopeptide: a preliminary study

The selective delivery of antigens to professional antigen-presenting cells represents a promising approach to improve vaccine efficacy. Addition of a glycoamphiphile to a lipopeptide, whose interest for vaccination is now well-established, greatly favors its solubilization in aqueous solutions through the formation of mixed vesicles. Flow cytometry experiments indicate that this formulation does not diminish the uptake of the lipopeptide by the dendritic cells (DCs). These preliminary results suggest a possible straightforward, noncovalent targeting of cocktail-lipopeptide vaccines to the DCs via carbohydrate receptor-mediated endocytosis.