Apolipoprotein B binding domains: evidence that they are cell-penetrating peptides that efficiently deliver antigenic peptide for cross-presentation of cytotoxic T cells

N Sakamoto, AS Rosenberg - The Journal of Immunology, 2011 - journals.aai.org
N Sakamoto, AS Rosenberg
The Journal of Immunology, 2011journals.aai.org
Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are a good source of cholesterol, which is important in
cellular homeostasis and production of steroids. Apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB-100), the sole
protein component of LDL, is known to bind to cell surface LDL receptor (LDLR) or cell
surface-bound proteoglycans and to be internalized into cells. We found that APCs,
consisting of macrophages and dendritic cells, upregulate LDLR on culture in vitro without
obvious stimulation. In contrast, T cell populations only upregulate LDLR on activation. Thus …
Abstract
Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are a good source of cholesterol, which is important in cellular homeostasis and production of steroids. Apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB-100), the sole protein component of LDL, is known to bind to cell surface LDL receptor (LDLR) or cell surface-bound proteoglycans and to be internalized into cells. We found that APCs, consisting of macrophages and dendritic cells, upregulate LDLR on culture in vitro without obvious stimulation. In contrast, T cell populations only upregulate LDLR on activation. Thus, we strategized that tagging immunogens to ApoB-100 might be a useful means to target Ag to APCs. We generated fusion proteins consisting of receptor binding sites in ApoB-100, coupled to OVA peptide (ApoB-OVA), as Ag delivery vehicles and demonstrated that this novel delivery method successfully cross-presented OVA peptides in eliciting CTL responses. Surprisingly, internalization of ApoB-OVA peptide occurred via cell surface proteoglycans rather than LDLRs, consistent with evidence that structural elements of ApoB-100 indicate it to have cell-penetrating peptide properties. Finally, we used this strategy to assess therapeutic vaccination in a tumor setting. OVA-expressing EL-4 tumors grew progressively in mice immunized with ApoB-100 alone but regressed in mice immunized with ApoB-OVA fusion protein, coinciding with development of OVA-specific CTLs. Thus, to our knowledge, this is the first article to describe the cell-penetrating properties of a conserved human origin cell penetrating peptide that may be harnessed as a novel vaccination strategy as well as a therapeutics delivery device.
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