CPC Scientific

Lipopeptides

Lipidation is a peptide modification that involves the addition of lipid molecule to a peptide sequence. Lipopeptides are of particular interest for vaccine development because it avoids the use of the sometimes toxic adjuvants while still generating a comprehensive immune response. Synthetic peptides alone are not enough to generate an immune response and therefore an immunoadjuvant is typically employed to enhance the response. Alternatives to the classical Freund’s adjuvants have had some success in peptide vaccine work that includes conjugations to bacterial and viral carrier proteins, immunostimulating complexes, and branched multiple antigenic peptides (MAPS).

Lipopeptides first entered into vaccine development after the observation in the early 1980’s by Hopp and co-workers that found improved anti-hepatitis surface antigen response in a peptide conjugated to a dipalmityl-lysine moiety.[1] The reason for this finding is that while short peptides may contain cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that bind to MHC class I molecules, they fail to prime CD8+ T-cell responses in vivo. This was further confirmed in the early 1990’s by Rammensee and co-workers who showed that an influenza lipopeptide (without the need for an adjuvant) elicited CTL responses whereas the corresponding peptide without lipid conjugation did not.

CPC Scientific has extensive experience and knowledge in synthesizing peptides containing lipid moieties and can link virtually any peptide sequence to lipids that include, palmitoyl, dipalmitoyl, myristic acid, geranyl, farnesyl, geranylgeranyl, and more.