Composition comprising immunogenic microparticles

1. A method of stimulating uptake of an antigen by dendritic cells in vivo in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the subject a composition comprising synthetic viral-sized particles having solid cores and having the antigen covalently bound to their outer surface, wherein the viral-sized particles have an average diameter of from 0.030 μm to 0.100 μm, wherein the composition is administered to the mammalian subject so as to facilitate contact of the viral-sized particles with the dendritic cells, thereby stimulating uptake of the antigen by the dendritic cells, wherein the antigen is selected from the group consisting of peptide, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and combinations thereof.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles have an average diameter of from about 0.030 μm to about 0.050 μm.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles have an average diameter of from about 0.040 μm to about 0.050 μm.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles are of substantially uniform size.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles comprise a solid core.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dendritic cells are DEC205+, CD40+ and CD86+.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles are selected from the group consisting of latex, ferrous molecules, gold, glass, calcium phosphate, polystyrene, polylysine G, biodegradable polymers, biocompatible polymers, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antigen is from a pathogen, tissue, cell organ or molecule and is selected from the group consisting of: pollen, hepatitis C virus (HIV) core, E1, E2 and NS2 proteins, antigens from Plasmodium species selected from the group consisting of P. vivax, P. faliciparum circumsporozoite protein (CS), human P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovalae , and P. malariae , TRAP, MSP-1, MSP-2, MSP-3, MSP-4, MSP-5, AMA-1 RESA, SALSA, STARP, LSA1 and LSA3, HIV-gp120/160 envelope glycoprotein, streptococcus surface protein antigen, influenza nucleoprotein, hemagglutinin-neuraminidase surface infection, TcpA pilin subunit, VP1 protein, LMCV nucleoprotein, Leishmania major surface glycoprotein (gp63), Bordetella pertussis surface protein, rabies virus G protein, Streptococcus M protein, Staphylococcal proteins, Helicobacter pylori proteins, Syncyticial virus (RSV) F or G proteins, Epstein Ban virus (EBV) gp340 or nucleoantigen 3A, hemagglutinin, Borrelia burgdoferi outer surface protein (Osp) A, Mycobacterium tuberculosis 38 kD lipoprotein or 30 kD protein (Ag85), 10 kD or 65 kD proteins, Neisseria meningitidis class 1 outer protein, Varicella zoster virus IE62 and gpl, Rubella virus capsid protein, Hepatitis B virus pre S1 ag, Herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein G or gp D or CP27, Murray valley encephalitis virus E glycoprotein, Hepatitis A virus VP1, polio virus capsid protein VP1, VP2 and VP3, Chlamydia trachomatis surface protein, Hepatitis B virus envelope Ag pre S2, Human rhinovirus (HIV) capsid, papillomavirus peptides from oncogene E6 and E7, Listeria surface protein, Varicella virus envelope protein, Vaccinia virus envelope protein, Brucella surface protein, Rotavirus, VP-3, VP-4, VP-5, VP-7 and VP-8, a combination of one or more of the antigens, an amino acid subunit of the antigen comprising five or more amino acids in length, and combinations of one or more of the subunits.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antigen is a cancer antigen.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cancer antigen is selected from the group consisting of a breast cancer antigen, a lung cancer antigen, a pancreatic cancer antigen, a colon cancer antigen, and a melanoma cancer antigen.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is administered to the subject orally, by inhalation, by administration through a mucosal surface or site or by injection subcutaneously, intra-dermally, intra-muscularly, intra-peritoneally, or intra-venously.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the composition is administered to the subject by injection subcutaneously, intra-dermally, intra-muscularly, or intra-peritoneally, and wherein the composition is capable of promoting a cellular immune response to the antigen in the absence of added adjuvant.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uptake of the antigen by the dendritic cells promotes proliferation and/or expansion and/or maturation of the dendritic cells.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uptake of the antigen by the dendritic cells promotes a cellular immune response to the antigen in the subject, and wherein the composition is capable of promoting a cellular immune response to the antigen in the absence of added adjuvant.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the cellular immune response to the antigen is elicited following a single administration of the composition.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the cellular immune response to the antigen includes a CD8 T cell immune response to the antigen.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the uptake of the antigen by the dendritic cells further promotes a humoral response to the antigen, wherein the humoral response is selected from immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M or immunoglobulin A to the antigen.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viral-sized particles are polystyrene.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein, following covalent attachment of the antigen, the viral-sized particles were quenched with a quenching agent selected from glycine, an alcohol, an amine, or an aldehyde.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the quenching agent was glycine.

21. A method of stimulating uptake of an antigen by dendritic cells in vivo in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the subject a composition comprising an effective amount of viral-sized particles of polystyrene or glass having an average diameter of from 0.030 μm to 0.100 μm and the antigen covalently bound to their outer surface, wherein the composition is administered to the subject so as to facilitate contact of the viral-sized particles with the dendritic cells, thereby stimulating uptake of the antigen by the dendritic cells, wherein the antigen is selected from the group consisting of peptide, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and combinations thereof.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the viral-sized particles have an average diameter of from about 0.030 μm to about 0.050 μm.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein, following covalent attachment of the antigen, the viral-sized particles were quenched with a quenching agent selected from glycine, an alcohol, an amine, or an aldehyde.

24. A method of stimulating a CD8 T cell immune response to an antigen in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the subject a composition comprising an effective amount of synthetic viral-sized particles having the antigen covalently bound to their outer surface, wherein the viral-sized particles have an average diameter of from 0.030 μm to 0.100 μm, wherein the antigen is selected from the group consisting of peptide, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and combinations thereof, and wherein the composition is capable of promoting the cellular immune response in the absence of added adjuvant.