Transcutaneous\nImmunization of 1D Rod-Like Tobacco-Mosaic-Virus-Based\nPeptide Vaccine via Tip-Loaded Dissolving Microneedles

Peptide vaccines induce specific neutralizing antibodies\nand are\neffective in disease prevention and treatment. However, peptide antigens\nhave a low immunogenicity and are unstable, requiring efficient vaccine\ncarriers to enhance their immunogenicity. Here, we develop a tobacco\nmosaic virus (TMV)-based peptide vaccine for transdermal immunization\nusing a tip-loaded dissolving microneedle (MN) patch. TMV is decorated\nwith the model peptide antigen PEP3. The prepared TMV-PEP3 promotes\ndendritic cell maturation and induces dendritic cells to overexpress\nMHC II, costimulatory factors, and pro-inflammatory factors. By encapsulation\nof TMV-PEP3 in the tips of a trehalose MN, TMV-PEP3 can be delivered\nby MN and significantly promote local immune cell infiltration. <i>In vivo</i> studies show that both subcutaneous injection and\nMN administration of TMV-PEP3 increase the production of anti-PEP3\nIgG antibodies and the harvested serum can induce complement-dependent\ncytotoxicity. This work provides a promising strategy for constructing\nefficient and health-care-friendly peptide vaccines.