Nanoparticle-Based Vaccines Against Respiratory Viruses

Abstract

The respiratory mucosa is the primary portal of entry for numerous viruses such as the respiratory syncytial virus, the influenza virus and the parainfluenza virus. These pathogens initially infect the upper respiratory tract and then reach the lower respiratory tract, leading to diseases. Vaccination is an affordable way to control the pathogenicity of viruses and constitutes the strategy of choice to fight against infections, including those leading to pulmonary diseases. Conventional vaccines based on live-attenuated pathogens present a risk of reversion to pathogenic virulence while inactivated pathogen vaccines often lead to a weak immune response. Subunit vaccines were developed to overcome these issues. However, these vaccines may suffer from a limited immunogenicity and, in most cases, the protection induced is only partial. A new generation of vaccines based on nanoparticles has shown great potential to address most of the limitations of conventional and subunit vaccines. This is due to recent advances in chemical and biological engineering, which allow the design of nanoparticles with a precise control over the size, shape, functionality and surface properties, leading to enhanced antigen presentation and strong immunogenicity. This short review provides an overview of the advantages associated with the use of nanoparticles as vaccine delivery platforms to immunize against respiratory viruses and highlights relevant examples demonstrating their potential as safe, effective and affordable vaccines.

A Review of SARS-CoV-2 and the Ongoing Clinical Trials

“…Through encapsulation or covalent functionalization, nanoparticles can be conjugated with antigenic epitopes, mimic viruses and provoke antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferation as well as cytokine production. In addition, mucosal vaccination through intranasal or oral spray can not only stimulate immune reactions at the mucosal surface, but also provoke systemic responses [85]. This demonstrates the potential of nanoparticle-based vaccines to protect humans against respiratory viruses that cause systemic symptoms.…”

Organic and inorganic nanoparticle vaccines for prevention of infectious diseases

“…PLGA has properties between PGA and PLA, which allows for tunability to combine the beneficial features of these polymers [44]. By changing the composition of co-polymer during polymeric nanoparticle synthesis process, these nanoparticles can function as a depot under physiological conditions for prolonged release and exposure of antigen to APCs, which is essential for mucosal vaccination [45]. Thomas et al synthesized nanoparticles of different ratio of PLA and PLGA to deliver hepatitis B surface antigen through the pulmonary route against hepatitis B virus (HBV) [17].…”

“…Another strategy to elicit greater immune response is to design carriers that mimic the natural structure and intrinsic immunogenic property of the virus, also known as VLPs. VLPs are spherical nanoparticles, typically self-assembled to be 20-200 nm in diameter [45]. These particles are generally derived from proteins from bioengineered bacteria, yeast, insect, mammals, or plants [62].…”

DNA Nanostructure as an Efficient Drug Delivery Platform for Immunotherapy

“…This is partly due to the higher requirements of immunotherapy for drug carriers, such as precise targeting, biocompatibility, and controlled release. In recent years, the researchers have put a lot of effort to develop nanotechnology-based methods to improve immunotherapy for various diseases (Look et al, 2010;Look et al, 2014;Shukla and Steinmetz, 2016;Liu et al, 2018;Al-Halifa et al, 2019). Nanomaterials-based therapeutics with unique properties may help address some of the key technical challenges in immunotherapy.…”