The lipid core peptide system in vaccine delivery

Lipid core peptide (LCP)-based group A streptococcal (GAS) vaccines incorporating numerous GAS M-protein epitopes have been synthesized in high purity. The LCP system incorporates adjuvant, carrier, and antigens into a single well-characterized construct. A tetra-epitopic vaccine, incorporating a highly conserved GAS M-protein C-terminal epitope and three strain-specific epitopes from the variable GAS M-protein N-terminal region, was synthesized using stepwise solid-phase peptide synthesis. Immunization of mice with this construct yielded high IgG antibody responses without the use of traditional adjuvants.