A miniature low-immunogenic platform for the biosynthesis of self-assembling protein nanoparticles.

Aims: Previously, to obtain antigen-presenting self-assembling protein nanoparticles (SAPN), we developed a biosynthetic platform combining the self-associating peptide L(6)KD and the SUMO protein. In the current work, the immunogenic SUMO was replaced with an artificial 30 amino acid long peptide pepA1. Methods: The immunogenic properties of the pepA1-SAPN were tested in mice using the pneumococcal PhtD19 and ovalbumin OVA(257-280) antigens in the absence of adjuvants. Results and Conclusions: The updated SAPN showed a 100% seroconversion rate and low immunogenicity of the platform. Given the effective synthesis and improved purification procedure, the pepA1-based miniature platform looks promising for development of vaccines and vehicles for targeted delivery.