Albumin binding peptide conjugates and methods thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a conjugate comprising an albumin binding peptide and a cargo, compositions for directing cargos to the lymphatic system, and vaccines. The methods of the invention can be used to increase an immune response, or to treat cancer or an infectious disease.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of making a conjugate for priming an endogenous immune response comprising: providing a host cell comprising a nucleic acid sequence that encodes the conjugate; and maintaining the host cell under conditions in which the conjugate is expressed,
 wherein the conjugate comprises:   (a) an albumin binding peptide; and   (b) an immunomodulatory molecule, wherein the immunomodulatory molecule is a peptide antigen,   and wherein the albumin binding peptide is operatively coupled to the immunomodulatory molecule.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the albumin binding peptide is operatively coupled to the immunomodulatory molecule without a linker domain 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the albumin binding peptide is operatively coupled to the immunomodulatory molecule with a polypeptide linker. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the polypeptide linker is a Gly-Ser linker. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the Gly-Ser linker is a (Gly4Ser)n (SEQ ID NO: 44) linker, and wherein n is 1-6. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the peptide antigen is a cancer antigen, tumor-associated antigen, a melanoma antigen, a viral antigen, a bacterial antigen, an allergen antigen, or an environmental antigen. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the albumin binding peptide comprises the amino acid sequence DICLPRWGCLW (SEQ ID NO: 9). 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence is RNA. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence is DNA. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the host cell is a bacteria, yeast, insect, plant or mammalian cell. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising purifying the conjugate. 
     
     
         12 . A method of making a conjugate for priming an endogenous immune response comprising making the conjugate by a synthetic method,
 wherein the conjugate comprises:   (a) an albumin binding peptide; and   (b) an immunomodulatory molecule, wherein the immunomodulatory molecule is a peptide antigen or an immunostimulatory oligonucleotide,   and wherein the albumin binding peptide is operatively coupled to the immunomodulatory molecule with or without a linker domain.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the synthetic method comprises solid-phase peptide synthesis, solution peptide synthesis, or DNA synthesis. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the albumin binding peptide and the immunomodulatory molecule are synthesized as separate units and coupled to form the conjugate. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the albumin binding peptide and the immunomodulatory molecule are synthesized as a single unit. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the albumin binding peptide is operatively coupled to the immunomodulatory molecule via a linker domain. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the linker domain comprises a Gly-Ser linker or a polyethylene glycol (PEG) linker. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the Gly-Ser linker is a (Gly4Ser)n (SEQ ID NO: 44) linker, and wherein n is 1-6, and the PEG linker is a PEG 2000  linker. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the peptide antigen is a cancer antigen, tumor-associated antigen, a melanoma antigen, a viral antigen, a bacterial antigen, an allergen antigen, or an environmental antigen. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the albumin binding peptide comprises the amino acid sequence DICLPRWGCLW (SEQ ID NO: 9). 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising purifying the conjugate.