Engineered lipopolysaccharides could potentially improve vaccine development

摘要

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are inflammatory proteins that are believed to harbor therapeutic potential. On the surface of Gram-negative bacteria, the hydrophobic anchor of LPS is the endotoxin lipid A, which is recognized by the innate immune system. Recently, the US FDA approved an adjuvant comprised of a less toxic combination of monophosphorylated lipid A species (MPL). It has been observed that wild-type Escherichia. coli LPS induces significant inflammatory Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling, whereas MPL causes less inflammatory responses. In a recent study, Stephen Trent (University of Texas at Austin, USA) and colleagues aimed to determine whether modifiying LPS molecules could influence the innate immune response.