Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026
Electrophysiology of Scorpion Peg Sensilla
Published on: April 13, 2011
A Cell Assay for Detecting Anti-PEG Immune Response against PEG-Modified Therapeutics
Taro Shimizu1, Amr S Abu Lila1,2,3, Mizuki Awata1
1Department of Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, 1-78-1, Sho-machi, Tokushima, 770-8505, Japan.
Purpose:
Immunogenicity of PEGylated proteins and nanomedicines represents a potential impediment against their development and use in clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to develop a method for detecting anti-PEG immunity of PEGylated proteins and/or nanomedicines using flow cytometry.
Methods:
The binding of fluorescence-labeled mPEG-modified liposomes to HIK-G11 cells, PEG-specific hybridoma cells, or spleen cells was evaluated by flow cytometry for detecting immunogenicity of PEGylated therapeutics.
Results:
The fluorescence-labeled methoxy PEG (mPEG)-modified liposomes were efficiently bound to HIK-G11 cells. Such staining with fluorescence-labeled mPEG-modified liposomes was significantly inhibited in the presence of either non-labeled mPEG-modified liposomes or mPEG-modified ovalbumin (OVA) but not polyglycerol-modified liposomes. In addition, we found that mPEG-modified liposomes, highly immunogenic, caused proliferation of PEG-specific cells, while hydroxyl PEG-modified liposomes, less immunogenic, scarcely caused. Furthermore, after intravenous injection of mPEG-modified liposomes, the percentage of PEG-specific cells in the splenocytes, as determined by flow cytometry, corresponded well with the production level of anti-PEG antibodies, as determined by ELISA.
Conclusions:
PEG-specific B cell assay we introduced may become a useful method to detect an anti-PEG immune response against PEGylated therapeutics and clarify the mechanism for anti-PEG immune responses.
Related Concept Videos
01:36Humoral Immune Responses
01:40Cell-mediated Immune Responses
01:23Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
01:28Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
01:27Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
01:29Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...