{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T13:51:48Z","timestamp":1790257908748,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]],"date-time":"2025-10-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759881600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Intramural Research Program"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Intramural Research Program"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Intramural Research Program"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Intramural Research Program"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Intramural Research Program"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Intramural Research Program"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["mBio"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Peptide-based therapeutic immunizations represent safe approaches to elicit antigen-specific T cell responses, but their broad utility remains limited due to poor immunogenicity and short\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      stability due to rapid degradation and clearance. Here, we employed synthetic bacterial spore-like particles, \u201cSSHELs\u201d (\n                      <jats:underline>S<\/jats:underline>\n                      ynthetic\n                      <jats:underline>S<\/jats:underline>\n                      pore\n                      <jats:underline>H<\/jats:underline>\n                      usk-\n                      <jats:underline>E<\/jats:underline>\n                      ncased\n                      <jats:underline>L<\/jats:underline>\n                      ipid), made entirely of biocompatible materials, to deliver a model peptide antigen in the absence of additional adjuvants. SSHELs carrying the peptide antigen were internalized by dendritic cells, and SSHEL-delivered peptides were then processed and cross-presented\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      more efficiently than free peptides. Furthermore, SSHEL-delivered peptides elicited effective antigen-specific T cell expansion in a manner that was dependent on particle size and peptide presentation mode (encased peptides were superior to surface-attached peptides). In a mouse melanoma model expressing the antigen ovalbumin, therapeutic immunization reduced tumor size and increased survival. We propose that SSHELs are a self-adjuvanting peptide delivery system that mimics a natural presentation to elicit a robust immune response.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:sec>\n                      <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                      <jats:p>\n                        Effective delivery of antigens to the immune system is essential for activating the adaptive immune system.\n                        <jats:underline>S<\/jats:underline>\n                        ynthetic\n                        <jats:underline>S<\/jats:underline>\n                        pore\n                        <jats:underline>H<\/jats:underline>\n                        usk-\n                        <jats:underline>E<\/jats:underline>\n                        ncased\n                        <jats:underline>L<\/jats:underline>\n                        ipids (SSHELs) are synthetic bacterial spore-like particles, where the proteinaceous polymerized surface layer of\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Bacillus subtilis<\/jats:italic>\n                        spores is partially reconstituted around a porous silica bead encased in a membrane. The protein surface allows easy covalent modification of the SSHEL surface, and the porous core permits high-capacity cargo loading. Here, we demonstrate that SSHELs act as a self-adjuvanting delivery system that enhances antigen uptake, processing, and MHC-I cross-presentation by dendritic cells. Importantly, we show that both particle size and antigen localization on or within the SSHEL particle profoundly influence the efficiency of T cell priming. These results establish SSHELs as a modular platform for the delivery of peptide antigens.\n                      <\/jats:p>\n                    <\/jats:sec>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/mbio.02256-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T11:51:21Z","timestamp":1757677881000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Immunization with peptide encapsulated within synthetic spores activates T cell responses and reduces tumor growth"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2584-984X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domenico","family":"D'Atri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health","place":["Bethesda, 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