From synthetic polyelectrolytes to polymer-subunit vaccines
V. A. Kabanov
Department of Chemistry, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State
University, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119992, Russia
Abstract: The results of many years of collaborative research
by chemists and immunologists in the area of application of synthetic
polyelectrolytes in immunology are reviewed. Linear synthetic polyelectrolytes
with diverse structures (which are not structural analogs of biopolymers
and, hence, not antigenic because they are unknown to the immune system),
when introduced into the organism, noticeably intensify the formation,
migration, and dissemination of stem cells, which are precursors of
all specialized cells including functional immune cells. In addition,
synthetic polyelectrolytes, when introduced in mixtures with typical
antigens (proteins, natural microbial polysaccharides, and their synthetic
analogs), serve as immunostimulants enhancing immune response by several
times. Moreover, individual bacterial or viral antigens, not sufficiently
active by themselves, induce specific immune response enhanced by orders
of magnitude if chemically bound to synthetic polyelectrolytes. Such
conjugates being preliminarily administrated, protect organisms from
absolutely mortal doses of the corresponding bacteria or viruses. The
nontoxic immunostimulant was developed: the ternary copolymer of 1,4-ethylenepiperazine,1,4-ethylenepiperazine-N-oxide,
and (N -carboxymethylene)-1,4-ethylenepiperazinium bromide (brand
name �polyoxidonium ��) permitted for human administration. The conjugate
of polyoxidonium with hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, protein subunits
of influenza viruses, has appeared as the first non-Pasteurian vaccine,
which now is successfully used in Russia (about 50 million immunized
people for the last 7 years). The physicochemical mechanisms of the
biological effect of these compounds and challenges of the further use
of the approach developed are considered in the review.
*Plenary lecture presented at the XVII Mendeleev Congress on General and Applied Chemistry, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, 21 -26 September 2003. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 1605-1798.
Page last modified 23 September 2004.
Copyright © 2004 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions or comments about IUPAC, please contact, the Secretariat.
Questions regarding the website, please contact web
manager.
