The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Besford, Quinn A.

doi:10.1039/d4sm00261j

Soft Matter

2024

DOI: 10.1039/d4sm00261j

|View full text |Cite

The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Quinn A. Besford

Abstract: Most cells take simple sugar (α-D-glucose) and assemble it into highly dense polysaccharide nanoparticles called glycogen. This is achieved through the action of multiple coupled-enzymatic reactions, yielding the cellular store...

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...

Citation Types

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Year Published

2024

2025

Publication Types

Select...

Article3

Relationship

Self Cite0

Independent3

Authors

Journals

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Antibody-Free Glycogen Nanoparticles Engage Human Immune T Cells for Intracellular Delivery of Small Drugs or mRNA

Fernandes,

Quattrociocchi,

Cassani

et al. 2024

ACS Nano

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

T cells play a major role in immune defense against viral infections and diseases such as cancer. Accordingly, developing nanoparticle (NP) systems to effectively deliver therapeutics to T cells is of interest. However, NP-mediated delivery of drugs to T cells is challenging because of the nonphagocytic nature of T cells. To engage T cells and induce cellular internalization, NPs are typically decorated with specific receptor-targeting antibodies, often using laborious and costly procedures. Herein, we report that natural glycogen NPs (i.e., nanosugars) with different sizes (20−80 nm) and surface charges (neutral and positively charged) engage Jurkat T cells, undergo intracellular trafficking, and release encapsulated drug without the use of receptor-targeting antibodies. Specifically, glycogen−resveratrol constructs are employed to reactivate HIV-1 latently infected Jurkat T cells (J-Lat A2) and trigger proviral expression. Both neutral and positively charged glycogen NPs engage with J-Lat A2 cells. Large (84 ± 29 nm) and positively charged (23 ± 5 mV) NPs, denoted phytoglycogen-ethylenediamine (PG EDA ) NPs, readily associate with the cell membrane and are internalized (60%) in J-Lat A2 cells but remain confined in the endocytic vesicles, with moderate reactivation of latent HIV-1 (4.7 ± 0.5%). Conversely, small (21 ± 5 nm) and positively charged (10 ± 6 mV) NPs, bovine glycogen-EDA (BG EDA ) NPs, associate slowly with T cells but show nearly 100% internalization and efficient endosomal escape properties, resulting in 1.5-fold higher reactivation of latent HIV-1 in T cells. PG EDA NPs and BG EDA NPs are also internalized by primary human T cells (>90% cell association) and enable the transfection of mRNA, with BG EDA NPs showing a 2-fold higher transfection than PG EDA NPs. This work highlights the potential of BG EDA NPs for the effective intracellular delivery of small-molecule drugs and mRNA in T cells.

show abstract

Antibody-Free Glycogen Nanoparticles Engage Human Immune T Cells for Intracellular Delivery of Small Drugs or mRNA

Fernandes,

Quattrociocchi,

Cassani

et al. 2024

ACS Nano

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The interaction of glycogen nanoparticles with human blood

Davydiuk,

Londhe,

Maitz

et al. 2025

Nanoscale

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Physicochemical and Spectroscopic Characterization of Glycogen and Glycogen Phosphorylase b Complexes

Karakousi,

Karayianni,

Chrysina

et al. 2024

Polysaccharides

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glycogen is a natural polysaccharide used as an energy storage macromolecule. The role of glycogen metabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus has been under investigation for several years, along with its implication in cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies using pig liver glycogen with rabbit muscle glycogen phosphorylase (RMGPb), which catalyzes the first step of glycogen degradation to glucose-1-phosphate, showed that the surface of an average glycogen molecule is covered by a total of 20 RMGPb dimeric molecules. In this work, we selected oyster glycogen (Glyc) to investigate its interaction with RMGPb by employing biophysical techniques. Dynamic, static, and electrophoretic light scattering were used to investigate the solution behaviors and structures of both the Glyc molecule itself and the formed complexes between Glyc and GPb at different mixing ratios. It was established that the interaction between oyster Glyc and RMGPb is similar to that previously reported for pig liver glycogen. Moreover, the structure of the complexed GPb was monitored by fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Abstract: Most cells take simple sugar (α-D-glucose) and assemble it into highly dense polysaccharide nanoparticles called glycogen. This is achieved through the action of multiple coupled-enzymatic reactions, yielding the cellular store...

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Antibody-Free Glycogen Nanoparticles Engage Human Immune T Cells for Intracellular Delivery of Small Drugs or mRNA

Antibody-Free Glycogen Nanoparticles Engage Human Immune T Cells for Intracellular Delivery of Small Drugs or mRNA

The interaction of glycogen nanoparticles with human blood

Physicochemical and Spectroscopic Characterization of Glycogen and Glycogen Phosphorylase b Complexes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About