Periodic Arrangement of Lipopolysaccharides Nanostructures Accelerates and Enhances the Maturation Processes of Dendritic Cells

This work reports an important application of nanomaterials consisting of biological ligands, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) nanostructures. Upon immobilization onto surfaces as periodic arrays of nanostructures, these surface-bound LPS nanostructures significantly impacted the maturation process of bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs): accelerating the maturation process in comparison to other means of ligand presentations such as LPS solution and monolayers on surfaces. In some cases, LPS nanostructures led to a new maturation phenotype in vitro characterized by hyper-dendritized morphology. This level of maturation enhancement was observed for the first time in vitro. Possible mechanisms leading to the acceleration and enhancement of BMDC maturation were also discussed. This work demonstrates an important concept: surface-bound nanostructures of ligands provide a new and powerful cue for regulating cellular signaling processes. The fact that primary cells' signaling processes, such as BMDC maturation, can be altered suggests a new means for programming dendritic cells for immune therapy.