Recombinant spider silk functionalized with a CD40 agonist shows improved capability to activate human B cells in vitro - A novel module for cancer immunotherapyVise andre og tillknytning
2025 (engelsk)Inngår i: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, ISSN 0141-8130, E-ISSN 1879-0003, Vol. 327, artikkel-id 147503Artikkel i tidsskrift (Fagfellevurdert) Published
Abstract [en]
This paper presents the generation and evaluation of a novel potential drug delivery platform for biologics, based on recombinant spider silk. Targeting CD40 for activation of antigen presenting cells, in order to overcome tumor induced T cell tolerance, have shown promising results in cell and animal models. However, further trials have gained limited results due to severe side reactions. To overcome this, we have investigated a strategy for a localized CD40 activation. A CD40 agonist based on a single chain variable fragment (scFv<inf>CD40</inf>) was enzymatically coupled to silk structures, that were then used to stimulate cells in vitro. A reporter cell line responsive to CD40 agonists was used to evaluate the bioactivity of the developed scFv<inf>CD40</inf>-silk, and to optimize the method. Once the bioactivity was confirmed, human primary B cells derived from healthy donors were stimulated with the scFv<inf>CD40</inf>-silk construct. The resulting B cell response was characterized both by upregulated surface expression of the activation marker CD86 (3 fold), suggesting an improved antigen-presenting capacity, and by B cell proliferation (4 fold) generating an expanded B cell population. The detected upregulation of the costimulatory molecule CD86 on the B cells implies a potential of the functionalized silk to steer the tumor-specific T cell response from tolerance to immune activation, including the onset of appropriate effector functions. Finally, we investigated the usability of the novel silk format microspheres for CD40-mediated cell activation in vitro. Here, we were able to demonstrate that scFv<inf>CD40</inf>-coupled silk microspheres gave a pronounced activation of the CD40-expressing reporter cell line, supporting the suitability of silk microspheres for the delivery of biologics with immune modulatory purposes.
sted, utgiver, år, opplag, sider
Elsevier BV , 2025. Vol. 327, artikkel-id 147503
Emneord [en]
Biologics, CD40 targeting, immune cell modulation, antigen presenting cell, Receptor clustering, Recombinant spider silk protein, single chain variable fragments
HSV kategori
Identifikatorer
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-370080DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.147503ISI: 001568435000003PubMedID: 40921361Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105015093185OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-370080DiVA, id: diva2:1999684
Merknad
QC 20250922
2025-09-222025-09-222025-09-22bibliografisk kontrollert