This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Selecta is developing a nicotine vaccine for smoking cessation and relapse prevention based on its proprietary targeted Synthetic Vaccine Particle (tSVP superscript TM technology.
The aim of this project is to assess the immune response to tSVP nicotine vaccines in non-human primates. Tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death in the United States. Tobacco use causes diseases affecting the heart and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emphysema. Smoking has also been linked to a variety of cancers including lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer. In this project we evaluate a novel immune therapeutic for smoking cessation in rhesus monkeys. The non-human primate model is the most relevant pre-clinical animal model to assess the immune response to the nicotine vaccines being tested. Aside from nicotine and inactive biodegradable polymers, the nicotine tSVPs contain an adjuvant and a T-cell memory peptide able to stimulate CD4+-T helper cells via MHC class II-dependent route. Immune response in experimental animals is measured by the level of antibody response to nicotine (ELISA).
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