Non-viral vaccination through cationic guanidium polymer-pDNA polyplex mediated gene transfer

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 15; no. 24; pp. 1351 - 1359
• Main Authors: Luther, David C, Goswami, Ritabrita, Lee, Yi-Wei, Jeon, Taewon, Huang, Rui, Elia, James L, Nagaraj, Harini, Bijlsma, Jetta J. E, Piest, Martin, Langereis, Martijn A, Rotello, Vincent M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 23.06.2023
• Subjects: Cationic polymerization; Endothelial cells; In vivo methods and tests; Macrophages; Nucleotides; Plasmids; Vaccines; Viruses
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/d2nr06428f

Vaccination through cellular transfection of nucleotide-based vaccines is a powerful approach to combatting disease. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines are particularly promising vectors for non-viral immunomodulation that afford high degrees of potency and flexibility. Versatile guanidinium-functionalized poly(oxanorbornene)imide (PONI-Guan) homopolymers were used to facilitate non-disruptive pDNA condensation into discrete polyplexes, enabling efficient in vitro transfection of endothelial cells and HD-11 macrophages. Translation of these vectors for vaccination of white leghorn chickens against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) elicited strong humoral immune responses against the virus. This approach presents a highly versatile method for targeted immunomodulation in vivo , with the potential for translatability as a non-viral vaccine platform. Nanotechnology for non-viral vaccination is a rapidly advancing field. Supramolecular assembly between plasmid DNA and a cationic polymer, PONI-Guan enables efficient transfection in vitro and vaccination in vivo against the Newcastle disease virus.