Advances in the design and delivery of peptide subunit vaccines with a focus on Toll-like receptor agonists

Abstract

Considerable success has been made with many peptide antigen formulations, and peptide-based vaccines are emerging as the next generation of prophylactic and remedial immunotherapy. However, finding an optimal platform balancing all of the requirements for an effective, specific and safe immune response remains a major challenge for many infectious and chronic diseases. This review outlines how peptide immunogenicity is influenced by the way in which peptides are presented to the immune system, underscoring the need for multifunctional delivery systems that couple antigen and adjuvant into a single construct. Particular attention is given to the ability of Toll-like receptor agonists to act as adjuvants. A survey of recent approaches to developing peptide antigen delivery systems is given, many of which incorporate Toll-like receptor agonists into the design.

Keywords::

• adjuvant
• antigen delivery system
• liposome
• micelle
• nanoparticle
• peptide
• subunit vaccine
• Toll-like receptor
• virus-like particle

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors of this review are funded by the National Institute of Health (grant number NIH U01 HL080718), International Center for Materials Research, Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, National Heart Foundation of Australia, and The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation (Brisbane, Australia). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.