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Enantiomer-dependent immunological response to chiral nanoparticles
Liguang Xu1,2, Xiuxiu Wang1,2, Weiwei Wang1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
Nature
|January 20, 2022
Summary
Chiral gold nanoparticles trigger distinct immune responses, with left-handed versions proving highly effective as vaccine adjuvants. Nanoscale chirality offers a novel way to regulate immune cell maturation and enhance vaccine efficacy against influenza.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Immunology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Chirality is a fundamental property of matter, crucial in biological systems.
- While chiral inorganic nanoparticles are well-studied, their impact on complex biological networks remains largely unknown.
- Understanding nanoparticle-biomolecule interactions is key, despite differences in scale and dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential immune responses to achiral, left-handed, and right-handed gold nanoparticles.
- To explore the role of nanoscale chirality in modulating immune cell maturation and function.
- To assess the potential of chiral nanoparticles as vaccine adjuvants.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of gold nanoparticles with controlled chirality using circularly polarized light (CPL).
- Measurement of nanoparticle optical anisotropy factors (g-factors).
- In vitro and in vivo assessment of immune responses, including inflammasome activation and dendritic cell maturation, upon nanoparticle-protein interactions (CD97 and EMR1).
Main Results:
- Achiral, left-handed, and right-handed gold nanoparticles elicit distinct immune responses.
- Nanoparticle binding to specific proteins opens potassium channels, activates inflammasomes, and matures dendritic cells.
- Immune responses correlate monotonically with nanoparticle g-factors, demonstrating chirality-dependent regulation.
- Left-handed nanoparticles are 1,258-fold more effective than right-handed ones as adjuvants for H9N2 influenza virus vaccination.
Conclusions:
- Nanoscale chirality can be precisely controlled and utilized to modulate immune cell maturation.
- Chiral nanoparticles offer a promising new platform for developing advanced vaccine adjuvants.
- This research opens avenues for using chirality in immunological applications and drug delivery.
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