In vitro and ex vivo nano-enabled immunomodulation by the protein corona

Nanoscale. 2022 Jul 28;14(29):10531-10539. doi: 10.1039/d2nr01878k.

Abstract

New technologies with the capacity to tune immune system activity are highly desired in clinical practice and disease management. Here we demonstrate that nanoparticles with a protein corona enriched with gelsolin (GSN), an abundant plasma protein that acts as a modulator of immune responses, are avidly captured by human monocytic THP-1 cells in vitro and by leukocyte subpopulations derived from healthy donors ex vivo. In human monocytes, GSN modulates the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in an inverse dose-dependent manner. Overall, our results suggest that artificial coronas can be exploited to finely tune the immune response, opening new approaches for the prevention and treatment of diseases.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Immunity
  • Immunomodulation
  • Monocytes / metabolism
  • Protein Corona* / metabolism
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Protein Corona
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha