tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Immune Netw
. 2026 Jul 30;26(4):e30.
doi: 10.4110/in.2026.26.e30. eCollection 2026 Aug.
Sang-Hyun Kim 1 , Bill Thaddeus Padasas 1 2 , Dong-Su Kim 3 , Doo-Jin Kim 4 , Jeong-Ki Kim 1 2
Affiliations
Seasonal influenza evades vaccine-induced immunity via ongoing antigenic drift, highlighting the critical necessity for universal vaccines that elicit broadly cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses targeting conserved internal viral epitopes. In pursuit of this objective, we prepared biocompatible and biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers (NCs) and functionalized them with MHC-I molecules. Among various murine and human epitopes tested, PB1703-711 and M158-66 showed the highest stabilization of H-2Kb and HLA-A2.1 molecules, respectively, thereby promoting sustained Ag presentation. These NCs exhibited specific peptide-loading onto MHC-I molecules while minimizing non-specific peptide surface binding. In vivo immunization of C57BL/6 mice with PB1703-711-loaded NCs elicited epitope-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Furthermore, the successful specific peptide-loading of HLA-A2.1-attached NCs highlighted the system's human translational applicability. Ultimately, by combining effective Ag delivery with specific CTL induction, this designed NC platform provides a promising strategy for developing next-generation universal vaccines.
Keywords: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes; Influenza virus; PLGA nanocarrier; Peptides; Universal influenza vaccine.
. 2026 Jul 30;26(4):e30.
doi: 10.4110/in.2026.26.e30. eCollection 2026 Aug.
Conserved Influenza Epitopes Delivered via MHC-I-Functionalized Nanocarriers Induce Influenza-Specific CTL Responses
Sang-Hyun Kim 1 , Bill Thaddeus Padasas 1 2 , Dong-Su Kim 3 , Doo-Jin Kim 4 , Jeong-Ki Kim 1 2
Affiliations
- PMID: 42694026
- PMCID: PMC13537909
- DOI: 10.4110/in.2026.26.e30
Abstract
Seasonal influenza evades vaccine-induced immunity via ongoing antigenic drift, highlighting the critical necessity for universal vaccines that elicit broadly cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses targeting conserved internal viral epitopes. In pursuit of this objective, we prepared biocompatible and biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers (NCs) and functionalized them with MHC-I molecules. Among various murine and human epitopes tested, PB1703-711 and M158-66 showed the highest stabilization of H-2Kb and HLA-A2.1 molecules, respectively, thereby promoting sustained Ag presentation. These NCs exhibited specific peptide-loading onto MHC-I molecules while minimizing non-specific peptide surface binding. In vivo immunization of C57BL/6 mice with PB1703-711-loaded NCs elicited epitope-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Furthermore, the successful specific peptide-loading of HLA-A2.1-attached NCs highlighted the system's human translational applicability. Ultimately, by combining effective Ag delivery with specific CTL induction, this designed NC platform provides a promising strategy for developing next-generation universal vaccines.
Keywords: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes; Influenza virus; PLGA nanocarrier; Peptides; Universal influenza vaccine.