Liposomal glycosphingolipids activate natural killer T cell-mediated immune responses through the endosomal pathway

Joe Inoue, Ryuichi Ideue, Daisuke Takahashi, Masahiro Kubota, Yoshio Kumazawa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Natural killer T (NKT) cells recognize lipid antigens, such as glycosphingolipids (GSLs), via CD1d and contribute to host defense against various pathogens. Here, we demonstrate that GSLs isolated from Sphingomonas bacteria and inserted into liposomes (GSL-liposomes) enhance the activation of NKT cells and dendritic cells (DCs). GSL-liposomes remarkably enhanced the production of IFN-γ from splenocytes in vitro and this enhancement depended on the content of the pH-sensitive lipid dioleoyl-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) in the liposomes. GSL-liposomes containing DOPE were clearly broken in late endosomes and this may facilitate effective loading of GSLs onto CD1 molecules. Treatment with GSL-liposomes also activated NKT cells and DCs in vivo. Collectively, our results strongly suggest that GSL-liposomes can effectively induce NKT cell-mediated immune responses and may be useful as an immune adjuvant for inducing protective immunity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)18-23
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Controlled Release
Volume133
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009 Jan 5
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Endosome
  • Glycosphingolipid
  • IFN-γ
  • Liposome
  • Natural killer T cell

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmaceutical Science

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