Associate Professor Larkin University Miami, Florida
Autoinducer (AI)-2 is a signaling molecule involved in bacterial quorum sensing (QS): a form of interspecies communication in bacteria. The reduction of QS is a potential therapeutic approach to fight against bacterial diseases. (S)-DPD (4,5-dihydroxypentane-2,3-dione), the precursor of AI-2 can be used as an adjuvant to induce and boost an immunogenic response in humans.
Various polymers were screened via molecular docking technique for the microparticulate formulation of DPD. Griess’s assay and Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the microparticulate DPD is immunogenic and can stimulate innate and adaptive immune response. A combination of DPD molecules with various particulate vaccines reveals that microparticulate DPD shows an adjuvant effect with the bacterial vaccines. These encouraging preliminary results have led us to further test microparticulate DPD and its synthetic analogs to explore their potential as probable vaccine adjuvants.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand what are the dihydroxy pentanedione (DPD) molecules.
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the synthetic routes of the dihydroxy pentanedione (DPD) molecules.
Upon completion, participants will be able understand the mechanism and biological effect of synthetic bacterial dihydroxy pentanedione (DPD) on enhancing the immunogenicity of different vaccines.
