Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery

Vaccination is credited as a significant medical achievement contributing to the decline in morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases. Traditional vaccines composed of inactivated and live-attenuated whole pathogens confer the induction of potent and long-term immune responses; however, traditi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jingyi Fan, Istvan Toth, Rachel J. Stephenson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Immuno
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5601/4/4/21
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846104359099695104
author Jingyi Fan
Istvan Toth
Rachel J. Stephenson
author_facet Jingyi Fan
Istvan Toth
Rachel J. Stephenson
author_sort Jingyi Fan
collection DOAJ
description Vaccination is credited as a significant medical achievement contributing to the decline in morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases. Traditional vaccines composed of inactivated and live-attenuated whole pathogens confer the induction of potent and long-term immune responses; however, traditional vaccines pose a high risk of eliciting autoimmune and allergic responses as well as inflammations. New modern vaccines, such as subunit vaccines, employ minimum pathogenic components (such as carbohydrates, proteins, or peptides), overcome the drawbacks of traditional vaccines and stimulate effective immunity against infections. However, the low immunogenicity of subunit vaccines requires effective immune stimulants (adjuvants), which are an indispensable factor in vaccine development. Although there are several approved adjuvants in human vaccines, the challenges of matching and designing appropriate adjuvants for specific vaccines, along with managing the side effects and toxicity of existing adjuvants in humans, are driving the development of new adjuvants. Self-assembling peptides are a promising biomaterial rapidly emerging in the fields of biomedicine, vaccination and material science. Here, peptides self-assemble into ordered supramolecular structures, forming different building blocks in nanoparticle size, including fibrils, tapes, nanotubes, micelles, hydrogels or nanocages, with great biostability, biocompatibility, low toxicity and effectiveness at controlled release. Self-assembling peptides are effective immunostimulatory agents used in vaccine development to enhance and prolong immune responses. This review describes the predominant structures of self-assembling peptides and summarises their recent applications as vaccine adjuvants. Challenges and future perspectives on self-assembled peptides as vaccine adjuvants are also highlighted.
format Article
id doaj-art-69c7a88390c64e68b0e8a8c37f4c408e
institution Kabale University
issn 2673-5601
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Immuno
spelling doaj-art-69c7a88390c64e68b0e8a8c37f4c408e2024-12-27T14:30:32ZengMDPI AGImmuno2673-56012024-10-014432534310.3390/immuno4040021Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant DiscoveryJingyi Fan0Istvan Toth1Rachel J. Stephenson2School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, AustraliaSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, AustraliaSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, AustraliaVaccination is credited as a significant medical achievement contributing to the decline in morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases. Traditional vaccines composed of inactivated and live-attenuated whole pathogens confer the induction of potent and long-term immune responses; however, traditional vaccines pose a high risk of eliciting autoimmune and allergic responses as well as inflammations. New modern vaccines, such as subunit vaccines, employ minimum pathogenic components (such as carbohydrates, proteins, or peptides), overcome the drawbacks of traditional vaccines and stimulate effective immunity against infections. However, the low immunogenicity of subunit vaccines requires effective immune stimulants (adjuvants), which are an indispensable factor in vaccine development. Although there are several approved adjuvants in human vaccines, the challenges of matching and designing appropriate adjuvants for specific vaccines, along with managing the side effects and toxicity of existing adjuvants in humans, are driving the development of new adjuvants. Self-assembling peptides are a promising biomaterial rapidly emerging in the fields of biomedicine, vaccination and material science. Here, peptides self-assemble into ordered supramolecular structures, forming different building blocks in nanoparticle size, including fibrils, tapes, nanotubes, micelles, hydrogels or nanocages, with great biostability, biocompatibility, low toxicity and effectiveness at controlled release. Self-assembling peptides are effective immunostimulatory agents used in vaccine development to enhance and prolong immune responses. This review describes the predominant structures of self-assembling peptides and summarises their recent applications as vaccine adjuvants. Challenges and future perspectives on self-assembled peptides as vaccine adjuvants are also highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5601/4/4/21self-assemblingpeptidesubunit vaccineadjuvants
spellingShingle Jingyi Fan
Istvan Toth
Rachel J. Stephenson
Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
Immuno
self-assembling
peptide
subunit vaccine
adjuvants
title Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
title_full Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
title_fullStr Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
title_full_unstemmed Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
title_short Self-Assembling Peptides for Vaccine Adjuvant Discovery
title_sort self assembling peptides for vaccine adjuvant discovery
topic self-assembling
peptide
subunit vaccine
adjuvants
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5601/4/4/21
work_keys_str_mv AT jingyifan selfassemblingpeptidesforvaccineadjuvantdiscovery
AT istvantoth selfassemblingpeptidesforvaccineadjuvantdiscovery
AT racheljstephenson selfassemblingpeptidesforvaccineadjuvantdiscovery