Cell surface morphology mimicking nano-bio platform for immune cell stimulation
Beena Varghese,
José Alfredo González-Navarro,
Valentino Libero Pio Guerra,
Margarita Faizulina,
Daria Artemieva,
Tomáš Chum,
Tejaswini Rama Bangalore Ramakrishna,
Marek Cebecauer,
Petr Kovaříček
Affiliations
Beena Varghese
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
José Alfredo González-Navarro
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague, Czechia
Valentino Libero Pio Guerra
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
Margarita Faizulina
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czechia
Daria Artemieva
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czechia; Department of Biophysical Chemistry, J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague, Czechia
Tomáš Chum
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague, Czechia
Tejaswini Rama Bangalore Ramakrishna
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague, Czechia
Marek Cebecauer
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague, Czechia
Petr Kovaříček
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czechia; Corresponding author
Summary: Studying the complex realm of cellular communication and interactions by fluorescence microscopy requires sample fixation on a transparent substrate. To activate T cells, which are pivotal in controlling the immune system, it is important to present the activating antigen in a spatial arrangement similar to the nature of the antigen-presenting cell, including the presence of ligands on microvilli. Similar arrangement is predicted for some other immune cells. In this work, immune cell-stimulating platform based on nanoparticle-ligand conjugates have been developed using a scalable, affordable, and broadly applicable technology, which can be readily deployed without the need for state-of-the-art nanofabrication instruments. The validation of surface biofunctionalization was performed by combination of fluorescence and atomic force microscopy techniques. We demonstrate that the targeted system serves as a biomimetic scaffold on which immune cells make primary contact with the microvilli-mimicking substrate and exhibit stimulus-specific activation.
