Gene delivery to dendritic cells by orally administered recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in mice

DNA vaccination has caught the attention of many for triggering humoral as well as cellular immune responses. And delivering DNA into the antigen presenting cells (APCs) in order to induce efficient immunoresponse has become the backbone of this field. It has been confirmed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae, though non-pathogenic, is being engulfed by the dendritic cells and macrophages and delivers not only proteins, but also DNA materials (already confirmed in vitro). In this research, S. cerevisiae is used to deliver green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene controlled under cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter in living organism (mice). The recombinant yeast, transfected with the plasmid containing the GFP gene, was heat killed and orally administered to mice. After 60 h of yeast administration, mice were sacrificed and intestine was separated, washed and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Tissues were cut at the size of 10 μm using Cryostat machine, and GFP expression was successfully detected under a fluorescence microscope. After 45 days Western blot was able to detect GFP antibody in the blood of mice. These results imply that S. cerevisiae, being non-pathogenic, cheap, and easy to culture could be a good candidate to deliver DNA materials to the immune cells for vaccination.

► We constructed a vector containing GFP and CMV and transformed it into yeast. ► Recombinant yeast orally given to mice, GFP expression confirmed in intestine. ► After 45 days Western blot confirmed production of GFP antibody. ► Yeast and dendritic cells’ characteristics can be manipulated to deliver gene(s).