Understanding yeast shells: structure, properties and applications

Area of Science:

• Biomedical science
• Immunology
• Drug delivery systems

Background:

• Yeasts are increasingly utilized in biomedicine for delivering prophylactic and therapeutic products.
• Yeast structural components like β-glucans, mannan, and chitin act as safe, low-toxicity immunostimulators.
• Yeast-based systems minimize antigen degradation, improving delivery to target cells.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review yeast-derived molecules, specifically yeast shells (YS), as carrier vehicles for immunotherapy applications.
• To explore the use of YS for delivering drugs, proteins, and nucleic acids.
• To survey production protocols and immune response profiles of YS for immunotherapy.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on yeast shells and their applications in drug and antigen delivery.
• Analysis of YS structural properties for immune cell recognition and phagocytosis.
• Evaluation of strategies for enhancing YS cargo loading and immune activation.

Main Results:

• Yeast shells (YS) facilitate efficient and effective antigen delivery strategies.
• The capsular structure of YS promotes recognition and phagocytosis by dendritic cells and macrophages.
• Combining YS with nanoparticles or adjuvants improves cargo loading and immune system enhancement.

Conclusions:

• Yeast derivatives, particularly YS, enhance immunostimulation and improve the delivery of medicines and vaccine antigens.
• The straightforward production of YS-based strategies makes them accessible for disease prevention and treatment.
• YS represent a promising platform for developing advanced immunotherapy applications.