Antigen delivery vectors and constructs
The present invention relates to fluorocarbon vectors for the delivery of antigens to immunoresponsive target cells. It further relates to fluorocarbon vector-antigen constructs and the use of such vectors associated with antigens as vaccines and immunotherapeutics in animals.
1. A fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of structure C m F n —C y H x -(Sp)-R, where m=3 to 30, n<=2m+1, y=0 to 15, x<=2y, (m+y)=3-30 and Sp is an optional chemical spacer moiety and R comprises a viral antigen.
2. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 1 , of structure
3. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 1 , of structure
4. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 1 , of structure
5. The fluorocarbon-vector antigen construct of claim 1 wherein R comprises an antigen from an influenza virus.
6. The fluorocarbon-vector antigen construct of claim 5 wherein R is a peptide.
7. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 6 , wherein R is a peptide consisting of between 7 to 70 amino acids.
8. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 5 , wherein R comprises at least one MHC class I or II binding epitope or B cell epitope or combinations thereof.
9. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 5 , wherein R comprises two or more overlapping epitopes.
10. The fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 5 , wherein R comprises multiple epitopes and/or fusion peptides.
11. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the fluorocarbon vector-antigen construct of claim 5 in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients, diluents or adjuvants.
12. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 11 , formulated for parenteral, oral, ocular, rectal, nasal, transdermal, topical, or vaginal administration.
13. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 11 , wherein the composition is a liquid, solid, aerosol or gas.
14. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 11 , comprising an adjuvant selected from the group consisting of muramyldipeptide (MDP) derivatives, CpG, monophosphoryl lipid A, oil in water adjuvants, water-in-oil adjuvants, aluminium salts, immunostimulating complex (ISCOMs), liposomes, microparticles, saponins, cytokines, bacterial toxins and toxoids.