Nanoengineering Approaches to The Design of Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells

Abstract

Artificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) have shown great initial promise for ex vivo activation of cytotoxic T cells. The development of aAPCs has focused mainly on the choice of proteins to use for surface presentation to T cells when conjugated to various spherical, microscale particles. We review here biomimetic nanoengineering approaches that have been applied to the development of aAPCs that move beyond initial concepts about aAPC development. This article also discusses key technologies that may be enabling for the development of nano- and micro-scale aAPCs with nanoscale features, and suggests several future directions for the field.

Keywords::

• anisotropy
• artificial antigen-presenting cell
• biomimetic
• immunology
• nanobiotechnology
• nanoparticle
• particle shape
• polymer

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors thank the NIH (R01-EB016721) for support and JC Sunshine thanks the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) program for support. JJ Green is a consultant for NexImmune. Conflicts of interest are managed by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Committee on Outside Interests. 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.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the NIH (R01-EB016721) for support and JC Sunshine thanks the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) program for support. JJ Green is a consultant for NexImmune. Conflicts of interest are managed by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Committee on Outside Interests. 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.