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Fighting Fire with Format: Exploiting Autoantigen Delivery to Combat Autoimmunity By J. Daniel Griffin © 2019 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Bioengineering Graduate Program and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Dr. Cory Berkland Dr. Brandon DeKosky Dr. Prajna Dhar Dr. A.J. Mellott Dr. Elizabeth Friis Date Defended: December 13th, 2019 ii The dissertation committee for J. Daniel Griffin certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Fighting Fire with Format: Exploiting Autoantigen Delivery to Combat Autoimmunity Chairperson Dr. Cory Berkland Date Approved: December 13th, 2019 iii Abstract There is a dire need for next-generation approaches to treating autoimmune disease that can potently inhibit the autoreactive destruction of host tissue while conserving protective immune functions. Antigen-specific immunotherapies (ASIT) offer such promise by harnessing the same pathogenic epitopes attacked in autoimmunity to selectively suppress the autoreactive cells that cause disease. Formatting autoantigen for ASIT is not trivial, as no clinical immunotherapies of this class are currently approved for treating autoimmune disease despite decades of attempts. This dissertation sought to explore physical and chemical determinants of efficacy in ASITs as a contribution toward fostering a future of precisely tailored autoimmune interventions. In these works, three autoantigen formats are explored: soluble, particulate, and surface delivery – each within the context of murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In chapter 2, the soluble antigen array (SAgA) was adopted as a platform to investigate the role of antigen valency in evoking B cell anergy to promote tolerance among mixed splenocytes. Analysis of SAgAs presenting discrete autoantigen valencies revealed that low-valency (but not monovalent) autoantigen was most capable of inhibiting B cell calcium mobilization, and this inhibition predicted tolerogenic effects in a mixed population of splenocytes. In chapter 3, particulate autoantigen delivery was explored by formulating a “functional” delivery system consisting of an antioxidant vitamin E emulsion. This formulation proved capable to suppress EAE in vivo, but mechanistic analyses suggested a driver of effect that differed from the originally hypothesized antioxidant function. These results motivated the invention of the antigen-specific immune decoys (ASIDs) reported in chapters 4 and 5. ASIDs were comprised of autoantigen restricted onto the surface of microporous collagenous biomaterials. Peptide-epitope decorated constructs prevented EAE in vivo by intercepting and exhausting autoreactive cells. Chapter 5 was an extension of this iv work, where polyantigenic ASIDs were fabricated to present a comprehensive palette of autoantigens and account for the heterogeneity of authentic disease. Though capable of amplifying discrete antigen-specific cell subsets ex vivo, polyantigenic ASIDs apparently did not induce cellular exhaustion and failed to attenuate EAE as a result. Together, these works emphasize the importance of characteristics such as antigen valency and context. The ongoing exploration of the ASID platform provides a foundation for assessing the utility of engineered local microenvironments in immune-mediated disease. v Acknowledgments Above all, thanks be to God. He is my strong tower and the light to my path. I am forever indebted to the people who believed in me both leading up to and during my time as a Jayhawk; It is because of you that this dissertation was ever possible. It would be impossible to recount all of the ways that friends, peers, and mentors enabled this journey, but I will attempt to note a few here. It is with tremendous gratitude that I thank my PhD advisor, Dr. Cory Berkland. Cory, you modeled for me what it means to be a man of intentionality, integrity, and tact in this field. You took me into your lab when I had little to offer, and I will never forget this outpouring of generosity you demonstrated to me. You taught me to internally define and strive for my own success in a world that longs for external laudations. Thank you for your guidance, investment, and friendship over the past four and a half years. I have immensely valued our conversations together. Thank you to my parents, Richard and Teresa Griffin. Dad, you spoke encouragement into me from a very young age and instilled in me an appreciation for the true value of exceptional effort. Mom, you constantly and selflessly demonstrated sacrificial love to my siblings and I, and because of it we are able to chase our dreams today. I am monumentally grateful to Madison ‘Al’ and Lila Self their gift that is the Self Graduate Fellowship. It is only because of their endless generosity and vision that I was able to complete this dissertation, both in the first place, but especially with the experiences and development that have prepared me to “make a real difference”. Thank you to the fellowship staff for your dedication and for giving me the opportunity to participate in this extraordinary program. Fellow fellows, it has been tremendous to grow with you over the past four years and I am forever grateful for the relationships we have built together. vi There is no lab quite like the Berkland lab - thank you to the lab mates who have made this such an enjoyable ride and have helped me so very much along the way. Jian Qian, Brad Sullivan, Brittany Hartwell, Lorena Napolitano, Chad Pickens, Shara Thati, Laura Northrup, Martin Leon, Matt Christopher, Jimmy Song, Melissa Mihalcin, Stephanie Johnson, Aric Huang, Sebastian Huayamares, Kyle Apley, Justin Ruffalo, Aparna Chakravarti, Mary Duncan, Bryce Stottlemire, Dakota Even, and Jon Whitlow, you have all enriched my graduate school experience beyond measure. Thank you as well to Michael Shao, Alex Sedlacek, and Deanna Diaz - the talented undergraduate students I had the privilege to work directly with. Wally Meyer, thank you for the mentorship and support you invested into me. I am indebted to you for the thoughtful questions and careful attention you gave me in encouraging the tangible realization of Exodus Biosciences. Thank you to Dr. Steve Jacobson. You took me in and showed me an entirely new world of research at the National Institutes of Health. The School of Engineering have been greatly supportive over my time as a graduate student. I am fortunate to have been able to work with Anna Paradis and Lynn Villafuerte as a graduate engineering ambassador, and special thanks go to Denise Bridwell for ensuring the success of me, along with all the other students of the Bioengineering Graduate Program. To my doctoral committee – Dr. Brandon DeKosky, Dr. Prajna Dhar, Dr. AJ Mellott, and Dr. Lisa Friis – thank you for your time, dedication, and feedback in edifying my development as a scientist and the dissertation herein. This dissertation is dedicated to my mother and her battle with multiple sclerosis. vii Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Autoantigen format directs the immune response: lessons from the clinic...................... 2 1.2 Peripheral Autoimmunity is a Vicious Cycle ................................................................... 4 1.3 Route and Size -Dependent Biotransport Dictates the Destination of Parenterally Delivered Compounds. ............................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Allergy Immunotherapies as the Foundation for Antigen-Specific Approaches to Autoimmunity. .......................................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Autoantigens Embody Physicochemical Profiles that Differ from Allergens ............... 16 1.6 Immunological Fates for Delivered Autoantigen are Determined by Format ............... 20 1.6.1 Systemic Drainage .................................................................................................. 22 1.6.2 Lymphatic Transport ............................................................................................... 22 1.6.3 Injection Site Retention........................................................................................... 23 1.7 Strategies for Circumventing Delivery and Distribution Obstacles ............................... 24 1.7.1 Intranodal delivery .................................................................................................. 24 1.7.2 Transdermal delivery .............................................................................................. 25 1.8 Next-Generation Approaches to Formatting Autoantigen for Optimizing ASIT .......... 25 1.8.1 Soluble Delivery ..................................................................................................... 26 1.8.2 Colloidal Delivery ................................................................................................... 26 1.8.3 Depot Delivery ........................................................................................................ 27 1.9 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 27 1.10 References .................................................................................................................. 28