Chitosan-coated PLGA nanoparticles for transcutaneous immunization: Skin distribution in lysozyme-sensitized mice.

The effect of transcutaneous immunization was studied using a combined system of poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles and iontophoresis (IP). Both hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles coated with chitosan hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride and their fluorescent nanoparticles were prepared using an antisolvent diffusion method. Their mean volume diameters were 87.6 ± 38.9 nm and 84.9 ± 27.6 nm, respectively. It was suggested from the results of the ex vivo skin accumulation study using fluorescent nanoparticles that the HEL released from the nanoparticles to the skin surface was efficiently delivered to antigen-presenting cells. HEL-specific IgG1 and IgG2a titers were determined in an in vivo percutaneous immunoreactivity study using lysozyme-sensitized mice. As results, the group using nanoparticles and IP showed 1.33 times higher HEL-specific IgG1 titer than a sham treatment group. The HEL-specific IgG2a titer was 1.36 times higher in the nanoparticles and IP group than in the HEL solution and IP group. It was suggested from the quantification results of total IgE in serum that the combined use of PLGA nanoparticles and IP reduced the total IgE concentration. The level of cytokines may have decreased due to Th1 cell activation and relative suppression of Th2 cells. The cytokine level is presumed to be reduced by activation of Th1 cells and relative suppression of Th2 cells. The histamine amount in plasma and rectal temperature after the induction of anaphylactic shock using lysozyme-sensitized mice were also studied, which indicates that the combined use of PLGA nanoparticles and IP may provide the same therapeutic effect as an injection.

Cell-free analysis of polyQ-dependent protein aggregation and its inhibition by chaperone proteins.

Protein misfolding and aggregation is one of the major causes of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. So far protein aggregation related to these diseases has been studied using animals, cultured cells or purified proteins. In this study, we show that a newly synthesized polyglutamine protein implicated in Huntington's disease forms large aggregates in HeLa cells, and successfully recapitulate the process of this aggregation using a translation-based system derived from HeLa cell extracts. When the cell-free translation system was pre-incubated with recombinant human cytosolic chaperonin CCT, or the Hsc70 chaperone system (Hsc70s: Hsc70, Hsp40, and Hsp110), aggregate formation was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, when these chaperone proteins were added in a post-translational manner, aggregation was not prevented. These data led us to suggest that chaperonin CCT and Hsc70s interact with nascent polyglutamine proteins co-translationally or immediately after their synthesis in a fashion that prevents intra- and intermolecular interactions of aggregation-prone polyglutamine proteins. We conclude that the in vitro approach described here can be usefully employed to analyze the mechanisms that provoke polyglutamine-driven protein aggregation and to screen for molecules to prevent it.