Development of a Nanocarrier-Based Splenic B Cell-Targeting System for Loading Antigens in Vitro

B cells are types of lymphocytes that are involved in the production of antibodies against pathogens. They also deliver and present antigens for the priming of T cells. Recently, we developed an in vivo splenic marginal zone (MZ) B cell-targeting liposomes decorated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) containing a hydroxyl-terminus group (HO-PEG-Lip). In an expansion of a previous study, we used HO-PEG-Lip as an in vitro antigen delivery tool to splenic B cells to test the ability of this formulation to overcome the limitations of the poor antigen uptake ability of B cells for implantation. To achieve our purpose, various factors were optimized. These factors include cell number, liposome concentration, pre-opsonization of liposomes, fresh serum concentration, and incubation time, all of which affect the extent of interaction between liposomes and B cells. As a result, we confirmed that the HO-PEG-Lip required incubation at 37 °C for at least 20 min with 50% mouse fresh serum followed by a subsequent incubation at 37 °C for at least another 30 min with splenic B cells. By using such a loading system, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled ovalbumin (OVA), a model antigen, encapsulated in HO-PEG-Lip could be efficiently loaded into splenic B cells. In addition, HO-PEG-Lip and FITC-labeled OVA encapsulated in HO-PEG-Lip were efficiently associated with MZ-B cells with high levels of complement receptors (CRs) rather than follicular B cells with low levels of CRs. These results propose a novel and useful system to efficiently load antigens into B cells in vitro by taking advantage of complement systems.