The use of ferritin nanoparticles as a basis for the development of antitumor vaccine delivery systems

• Grant number: 19/08891-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: October 01, 2019 - March 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmaceutical Technology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Testa Moura de Carvalho Vicentini
• Grantee: Fabiana Testa Moura de Carvalho Vicentini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Celio Lopes Silva ; Maíra Peres Ferreira Duarte ; Maria José Vieira Fonseca ; Maria Vitória Lopes Badra Bentley ; Osvaldo de Freitas ; Rúbia Casagrande ; Waldiceu Aparecido Verri Junior ; Wendy Martin Rios

Abstract

In the new era of subunit vaccines made from proteins, peptides or DNA antigens, there is a greater need for potent adjuvants that increase the immunogenicity. In this context, the nanotechnology and materials science appear as promising opportunities to meet this challenge(MAMO; POLAND, 2012). Ferritin nanoparticles are protein-based supramolecular complexes that have highly symmetric and uniformly sized hollow spherical architectures. They are precisely self-assembled from 24 copies of identical 20 kDa subunits which can be easily and accurately manipulated by genetic modifications and chemical bioconjugations (HAN et al., 2014). Thus, the recent discovery of the ferritin ability to encapsulate different types of molecules, having a role as nanostructured release system, has identified a new platform for use in bionanotechnology (HE; MARLES-WRIGHT, 2015). The development of this project has as main objective to contribute to the establishment of a new infrastructure and technology platform for R&D of biological nanostructured release systems for vaccine delivery. To this end, it proposes to evaluate ferritin-based delivery systems of a DNA vaccine for melanoma treatment. The development of the present proposal will have as specific objectives: I) Obtainment and characterization of the DNA vaccine encoding EGFRvIII-incorporated nanostructured delivery systems; and II) Evaluation of the vaccine formulations immunogenicity by the determination of the humoral and cellular immune responses in previously immunized animals. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VIEGAS, JULIANA SANTOS ROSA; BENTLEY, MARIA VITORIA LOPES BADRA; VICENTINI, FABIANA TESTA MOURA DE CARVALHO. Challenges to perform an efficiently gene therapy adopting non-viral vectors: Melanoma landscape. JOURNAL OF DRUG DELIVERY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, v. 78, p. 18-pg., 2022-11-14. (14/50928-2, 19/04448-2, 19/08891-8)

NATÁLIA FLORIANO PAIVA; FABIANA TESTA MOURA DE CARVALHO VICENTINI. Oral and nasal vaccination: current prospects, challenges, and impact of nanotechnology-based delivery systems. Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, v. 59, 2023-05-08. (19/08891-8, 19/25548-5)