Dendritic Cells Targeting and pH-Responsive Multi-layered Nanocomplexes for Smart Delivery of DNA Vaccines.

Specific and effective delivery of DNA vaccines into dendritic cells (DCs) to express antigens is a precondition for induction of immune responses. Construction of a new DNA vaccine delivery system with the ability of programmed gene transfection may achieve this objective. In this study, we successfully integrated dendritic lipopeptide, charge-reversible polymer, and APC-targeted material into DNA vaccine delivery system through layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. By the means of adjusting the weight ratios and concentration ratios of components, stable complexes were formulated with a particle size of 256.8 ± 10.7 nm and zeta potential of 25.1 ± 2.3 mV. Moreover, this DNA vaccine delivery system could achieve specific delivery into DCs, high transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity, holding great promise for immunotherapy.