Background The development of vaccines is an effective and safe strategy to combat multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) infections. This study aimed to prepare a DC-targeting multiepitope peptide biomimetic nanovaccine and evaluate its immune response and protective effect in mice.
Results The B-cell and T-cell epitopes of the OmpW protein from A. baumannii were predicted and screened using bioinformatics methods and identified by immunological means. The selected dominant epitopes were conjugated in series with 6-aminocaproic acid, and a multiepitope peptide, rOmpW, was chemically synthesized. Then, rOmpW was encapsulated with polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and a neutrophil membrane (NM), and the surface was modified with DC-targeting peptide (DCpep) to construct the biomimetic nanovaccine DCpep-NM-PLGA-rOmpW. This biomimetic nanovaccinecan induce strong Th1 and Th17 cellular immune responses and humoral immunity. The biomimetic nanovaccine produced efficient immunological protection in an acute lethal pneumonia model of A. baumannii.
Conclusions Our results indicate the potential translational value of this biomimetic nanovaccinefor preventing A.baumannii infection.