Friday, 20 May 11:00am – 12:00pm

This seminar will be delivered in Online Zoom Please email chemistry.researchsupport@sydney.edu.au for zoom link and password.

Speaker: Prof. Gavin Painter, Victoria University of Wellington

Host: Prof. Rich Payne

Title: The development of nanoparticle vaccines for the induction of liver-resident memory CD8+ T cells that protect against hepatotropic infection

Abstract: Vaccines based on nano-formulations have some advantages when compared to those based on microemulsions or aggregates. For example, they can be terminally sterile-filtered and are generally easier to manipulate on scale. These are favourable attributes when considering manufacture and/or regulatory approval, which likely aided the rapid development of lipid nanoparticle mRNA vaccines encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles for COVID-19.

In our research collaboration with the University of Melbourne and the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research we are developing vaccines that produce memory T cell responses to combat liver pathogens, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. In published work (Holz et al 2020) we reported that self-adjuvanting glycolipid-peptide conjugate vaccines generate substantial numbers of non-circulating tissue resident memory CD8⁺ T cells (T_RM) and protect against P. berghei sporozoite challenge in mice. Inspired by this finding we now will report ongoing research regarding the development of liver T_RM-inducing nanoparticulate vaccines based on peptide-conjugates and adjuvanted mRNA antigens.

Holz, L. E. et al, Glycolipid-peptide vaccination induces liver-resident memory CD8(+) T cells that protect against rodent malaria. Sci Immunol 2020, 5 (48).