Immune modulation by glycosylated outer membrane vesicle (glycOMV) vaccines 3837

Abstract Description Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from Gram-negative bacteria are a powerful platform for vaccine development, addressing infectious disease and cancer immunotherapy. These non-replicating vesicles naturally contain pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that activate innate and adaptive immunity, giving OMVs intrinsic adjuvant properties. Their size allows direct lymph node drainage, enabling efficient uptake by antigen-presenting cells and cross-presentation to T cells. Our lab has engineered OMVs using synthetic biology and recombinant DNA techniques, producing non-pathogenic E. coli K12 OMVs with targeted antigens. These OMVs elicit strong antigen-specific humoral and T-cell-mediated immune responses in mouse models, including B-cell activation and dendritic cell-mediated T-cell responses. OMV-based vaccines have shown efficacy against several pathogens and tumors, highlighting their potential for diverse applications. We recently developed glycosylated OMVs (glycOMVs) decorated with pathogen-specific polysaccharides. These glycOMVs present a method of displaying high-density glycan epitopes to the immune system, which leads to clustering B cell receptors and improving immune responses to weak antigens like glycans and small peptides. However, the specific mechanisms behind glycOMV-induced immunity remain unclear. Our research focuses on characterizing these pathways in vitro and in vivo, advancing OMV-based vaccine design to combat infectious diseases and cancer. Funding Sources This work was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant OPP1217652 Topic Categories Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)