Immunological Properties of Gold Nanoparticles

Abstract

In the past decade, gold nanoparticles have attracted strong interest from the nanobiotechnological community owing to the significant progress made in robust and easy-to-make synthesis technologies, in surface functionalization, and in promising biomedical applications. These include bioimaging, gene diagnostics, analytical sensing, photothermal treatment of tumors, and targeted delivery of various biomolecular and chemical cargos. For the last-named application, gold nanoparticles should be properly fabricated to deliver the cargo into the targeted cells through effective endocytosis. In this review, we discuss recent progress in understanding the selective penetration of gold nanoparticles into immune cells. The interaction of gold nanoparticles with immune cell receptors is discussed. As distinct from other published reviews, we present a summary of the immunological properties of gold nanoparticles. This review also summarizes what is known about the application of gold nanoparticles as an antigen carrier and adjuvant in immunization for the preparation of antibodies in vivo. For each of the above topics, the basic principles, recent advances, and current challenges are discussed. Thus, this review presents a detailed analysis of data on interaction of gold nanoparticles with immune cells.Emphasis is placed on the systematization of data over production of antibodies by using gold nanoparticles and adjuvant properties of gold nanoparticles. Specifically, we start our discussion with current data on interaction of various gold nanoparticles with immune cells. The next section describes existing technologies to improve production of antibodies in vivo by using gold nanoparticles conjugated with specific ligands. Finally, we describe what is known about adjuvant properties of bare gold or functionalized nanoparticles. In the Conclusion section, we present a short summary of reported data and some challenges and perspectives.

Gold nanoparticle‐adjuvanted S protein induces a strong antigen‐specific IgG response against severe acute respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus infection, but fails to induce protective antibodies and limit eosinophilic infiltration in lungs

“…In this study, we explored the potential of AuNPs for use as an adjuvant to promote immune responses with balanced effects on Th1 and Th2 T‐cell immunity . AuNPs stimulate macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes after induction of proinflammatory cytokine (i.e., IL‐1β and TNF‐α) and Th1 cytokine (i.e., IFN‐γ and IL‐2) expression .…”

“…In this study, we explored the potential of AuNPs for use as an adjuvant to promote immune responses with balanced effects on Th1 and Th2 T‐cell immunity . AuNPs stimulate macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes after induction of proinflammatory cytokine (i.e., IL‐1β and TNF‐α) and Th1 cytokine (i.e., IFN‐γ and IL‐2) expression . Niikura et al demonstrated that AuNP‐adjuvanted West Nile virus E protein (10 µg) showed high antigenicity in mice and induced inflammatory cytokine production, including TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐12, and GM‐CSF, by antigen‐presenting cells in vitro .…”

“…Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have become the choice for immunotherapy applications because their physicochemical properties prevent antibody production against the platform material . Furthermore, some in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed that various immune cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes, are stimulated by AuNPs leading to the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL‐1β and TNF‐α) and Th1 cytokines (IFN‐γ and IL‐2) . Thus, in this study, we evaluated two kinds of vaccine adjuvants, including AuNPs, which are expected to function as both an antigen carrier and an adjuvant in immunization; and TLR agonists, which have previously been shown to function as an adjuvant to increase the efficacy of an ultraviolet (UV)‐inactivated SARS‐CoV vaccine …”

Pulmonary impact of titanium dioxide nanorods: examination of nanorod-exposed rat lungs and human alveolar cells

“…11 Autophagosomes are formed around cell "garbage" of internal or external origin, where externals may include endocytosed NPs that are attacked by phagocytes of the immune system similarly to pathogens. 46 The autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to degrade their contents. In our nanorod-exposed cells, this process (autophagosomal flux) might have been disturbed, resulting in the accumulation of unprocessed autophagosomes, as was seen in the TEM of TiO 2 nanorod treated cells.…”

Gold nanoparticles for preparation of antibodies and vaccines against infectious diseases

“…A very popular antigen carrier used for immunization and vaccination is gold nanoparticles (GNPs) [68][69][70][71]. Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, ease of preparation, and low toxicity, GNPs are widely used in various fields of biomedical research [72].…”