How the Crosslinker Amount Influences the Final Properties of Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Cryogels.

The investigation of the mechanical, thermal, and adsorption properties of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) cryogels as a function of a reactant ratio is herein reported to better address materials for specific applications. To this aim, cryogels have been synthesized using different monomer/crosslinker (N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide-MBAA) ratios. The study of SEM images made it possible to identify the trend in the material's macroporosity.

Enhanced Systemic Humoral Immune Response Induced in Mice by Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) Is Associated with Affinity Maturation and Isotype Switching.

Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) are outer membrane vesicles derived from Gram-negative bacteria that can be used to design affordable subunit vaccines. GMMA have been observed to induce a potent humoral immune response in preclinical and clinical studies. In addition, in preclinical studies, it has been found that GMMA can be exploited as optimal antigen carriers for both protein and saccharide antigens, as they are able to promote the enhancement of the antigen-specific humoral immune response when the antigen is overexpressed or chemically conjugated to GMMA.

Effective Multivalent Oriented Presentation of Meningococcal NadA Antigen Trimers by Self-Assembling Ferritin Nanoparticles.

The presentation of viral antigens on nanoparticles in multivalent arrays has emerged as a valuable technology for vaccines. On the nanoparticle surface, highly ordered, repetitive arrays of antigens can mimic their geometric arrangement on virion surfaces and elicit stronger humoral responses than soluble viral antigens. More recently, bacterial antigens have been presented on self-assembling protein nanoparticles and have elicited protective antibody and effective T-helper responses, further supporting the nanoparticle platform as a universal approach for stimulating potent immunogenicity.

OpcA and PorB are novel bactericidal antigens of the 4CMenB vaccine in mice and humans.

The ability of Neisseria meningitidis Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMV) to induce protective responses in humans is well established and mainly attributed to Porin A (PorA). However, the contribution of additional protein antigens to protection remains to be elucidated. In this study we dissected the immunogenicity of antigens originating from the OMV component of the 4CMenB vaccine in mice and humans.

Investigating the Role of Antigen Orientation on the Immune Response Elicited by Factor H Binding Protein on GMMA.

GMMA are outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released from Gram-negative bacteria genetically modified to enhance OMVs formation that have been shown to be optimal systems to enhance immunogenicity of protein antigens. Here, we selected factor H binding protein (fHbp) and used the conjugation chemistry as a tool to alter antigen orientation on GMMA. Indeed, fHbp was randomly linked to GMMA or selectively attached via the N-terminus to mimic native presentation of the protein on the bacterial surface.