2. Academic Validation
  3. Cationic stearic acid-chitosan micelles enhance intranasal antigen delivery and mucosal immunity

Cationic stearic acid-chitosan micelles enhance intranasal antigen delivery and mucosal immunity

  • Int Immunopharmacol. 2026 Feb 1:170:116071. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2025.116071.
Donghui Li 1,  Wenbo Li 1,  Xianwen Hu 2,  Wenhua Ran 3,  Jing Zhao 3,  Shilin Liu 4,  Yan Li 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
  • 2 College of Chemistry, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
  • 3 Hubei Gedian Humanwell Pharmaceutical Excipients Co., LTD, Wuhan 430070, China.
  • 4 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology (Huazhong Agricultural University), Ministry of Education, China.
  • 5 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology (Huazhong Agricultural University), Ministry of Education, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41448001 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2025.116071
Abstract

Chitosan (CS), as an effective mucosal Adjuvant, suffers from poor solubility at neutral pH value. Inspired by the membrane-fusion and hydrophobic properties of fatty acid, stearic acid (SA) was grafted onto CS to form water-soluble, positively charged CS-SA micelles, facilitating antigen delivery. Here, the nasal Adjuvant capacity of CS-SA micelles was evaluated using model antigen ovalbumin (OVA). Results showed that OVA loaded CS-SA micelles (OVA-CS-SA) exhibited a moderate positive charge (7.2 mV), high antigen loading efficiency (EE > 87 %), and good stability against pH and nasal electrolyte. Compared with free OVA, OVA-CS-SA significantly enhanced mucus permeability (Papp by 2.01-fold) and epithelial transport (Papp by 2.34-fold), improved macrophage antigen uptake (2.45-fold in RAW 264.7 cells), and upregulated antigen-presentation and costimulatory markers (MHC I/II, CD80/CD86/CD40) on dendritic cells. Intranasal immunization with OVA-CS-SA raised lung sIgA and serum IgG, promoted splenocyte proliferation (∼50 %), boosted the secretion of IL-4, IL-17, and IFN-γ, and increased the proportion of central memory T cells in the spleen. Overall, CS-SA micelles improved nasal antigen delivery and augmented mucosal and systemic immune responses in a mouse model, supporting their candidacy as an effective intranasal Adjuvant.

Keywords

Adjuvant; Antigen delivery; Micelles; Mucosa adjuvant; Stearic acid–chitosan micelles.

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