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Liposomes for Immune Activation

Liposomes are widely used as carriers for the delivery of therapeutic agents due to their high biocompatibility, high loading capacity, targeting delivery, reliable protection of agents, versatile structure modification, and adjustable characteristics. In recent years, liposomes are rapidly developed as multifunctional vaccine adjuvant delivery systems or carriers for mRNA vaccines. With years of experience in liposome development, Creative Biolabs has established both drug delivery platform and vaccine platform. We have absolute advantages in providing first-class products and meeting the best standard of your requirements.

Background of Liposome-based Immune Activation

Classical vaccines are generally whole killed or attenuated pathogens. In recent years, subunit vaccines are attracting extensive attention due to the advantages of better defined, easier to produce, and safer. These vaccines are produced based on well-characterized antigens, such as recombinant proteins and peptides. However, their immunogenicity is not strong enough to induce the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) due to their synthetic nature, and thus often leads to a weak immune response. Nanoparticulate carriers such as liposomes can act as adjuvants for the enhancement of antigen delivery or activation of the innate immune response. The mechanisms by which liposomes enhance immune response include:

  1. Antigen delivery, liposomes can help penetrate the tissues and access the lymphatics.
  2. Depot effects, improved stability and sustained release of vaccine antigens.
  3. Repetitive antigen display, facilitate B-cell receptor coaggregation, triggering, and activation.
  4. Cross presentation, leakage of antigens into the cytosol may lead to the activation of major histocompatibility type I (MHC-I) pathways.

Mechanisms by which liposomes alter the induction of immune responses.Fig 1. Mechanisms by which liposomes alter the induction of immune responses. (Creative Biolabs)

Liposome-based Subunit Vaccine

Subunit vaccines are developed based on the antigenic parts of microorganisms such as proteins, DNA, RNA, and synthetic carrier-vectored antigens (Ags). However, the lack of other components of a pathogen makes subunit vaccines vulnerable to environmental damage. Among the various particulate carriers developed to enhance the potency of subunit vaccines, liposomes are the most widely used type due to the excellent loading capacity and feasible for large-scale manufacture, which can also incorporate functional molecules such as TLRs (toll-like receptor agonists/ligands) and NLRs (NOD-like receptor agonists/ligands) to further expand their functions. As such, liposome is not only an adjuvant in boosting immunostimulatory effects but also acts as a vehicle that provides protection, sustained release, and any other optional functions.

Liposome-based mRNA Vaccine

In the past few years, lipid-based mRNA vaccine delivery has become one of the most appealing and commonly-used strategies. Compared with conventional vaccines, mRNA vaccines can be more stable, at the same time, highly translatable through various modifications, allowing rapid cellular uptake and efficient expression. As mRNA is a non-infectious, non-integrating platform, there is no potential risk of infection or insertional mutagenesis which realizes the higher safety of the mRNA vaccines. The core principle behind mRNA as a technology for vaccination is to deliver the transcript of interest, encoding one or more immunogen(s) into the host cell cytoplasm where expression generates translated protein(s) are ultimately located in the membrane, to be secreted, or intracellular. Two categories of mRNA constructs are being evaluated: non-replicating mRNA (NRM) and self-amplifying mRNA (SAM).

Mechanisms of liposomal mRNA vaccine.Fig 2. Mechanisms of liposomal mRNA vaccine. (Creative Biolabs)

One-stop Liposome Development Service for Immune Activation

As an expert in lipid-based drug delivery, Creative Biolabs is dedicated to improving human health and has successfully established both drug delivery platforms and pre-clinical vaccine platforms. We have absolute advantages in providing one-stop services that cover every stage of liposome-based vaccine research:

  • Advanced technologies to produce various liposomal carriers
  • Professional pre-clinical vaccine platforms
  • Full set of vaccine analytics & assessment service
  • Pharmaceutical scientists for scientific research
  • Abundant experience in various applications

For more details about our services, please feel free to contact us.

References

  1. Schwendener, R. A.; et al. Liposomes as vaccine delivery systems: A review of the recent advances. Therapeutic Advances in Vaccines, 2014, 2(6):159-182.
  2. Wang N.; et al. Liposomes used as a vaccine adjuvant-delivery system: From basics to clinical immunization. Journal of Controlled Release, 2019, 303:130-150.
For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use