Nanoparticles for Directed Immunomodulation: Mannose-Functionalized Glycodendrimers Induce Interleukin-8 in Myeloid Cell Lines.

New therapeutic strategies for personalized medicine need to involve innovative pharmaceutical tools, for example, modular nanoparticles designed for direct immunomodulatory properties. We synthesized mannose-functionalized poly(propyleneimine) glycodendrimers with a novel architecture, where freely accessible mannose moieties are presented on poly(ethylene glycol)-based linkers embedded within an open-shell maltose coating. This design enhanced glycodendrimer bioactivity and led to complex functional effects in myeloid cells, with specific induction of interleukin-8 expression by mannose glycodendrimers detected in HL-60 and THP-1 cells. We concentrated on explaining the molecular mechanism of this phenomenon, which turned out to be different in both investigated cell lines: in HL-60 cells, transcriptional activation via AP-1 binding to the promoter predominated, while in THP-1 cells (which initially expressed less IL-8), induction was mediated mainly by mRNA stabilization. The success of directed immunomodulation, with synthetic design guided by assumptions about mannose-modified dendrimers as exogenous regulators of pro-inflammatory chemokine levels, opens new possibilities for designing bioactive nanoparticles.

Terminal Sugar Moiety Determines Immunomodulatory Properties of Poly(propyleneimine) Glycodendrimers.

Poly(propyleneimine) dendrimers fully surface-modified with disaccharide moieties (maltose, cellobiose, and lactose) designed to mimic natural lectin receptor ligands were tested for their bioactivity in two myeloid cell lines: THP-1 and HL-60. Depending on the sugar modification, we observed variable activation of NF-κB, AP-1, and NF-AT signaling pathways: lactose-coated dendrimers had the strongest impact on marker gene expression and most signaling events with the notable exception of NF-κB activation in THP-1 cells. The two cell lines showed an overall similar pattern of transcription factor and gene expression activation upon treatment with glycodendrimers, suggesting the involvement of galectin and C-type lectin receptor types. An important result of this action was the overexpression of CD40 and IL8 genes, potentially leading to an activated, proinflammatory phenotype in the monocyte/macrophage cell lineage. These pharmacodynamic characteristics of glycodendrimers need to be taken into account during their pharmaceutical applications both in drug delivery and direct immunomodulation.