Targeting rapidly cycling receptors CD2 and CD7 increases nanoparticle delivery to primary CD4 T cells.

Abstract

T cells are critically important to many diseases but are traditionally difficult to transfect. We hypothesise that the delivery of therapeutic cargo to T cells can be improved by targeting nanoparticles to surface receptors that undergo rapid receptor-mediated endocytosis. Using an internalisation assay that labelled intracellular and surface proteins with different fluorophores, we find that CD2 and CD7 exhibit significantly higher internalisation than other T cell receptors, such as CD3 or CD4. Targeting CD2 and CD7 improves nanoparticle internalisation by non-stimulated, primary CD4+ T cells and enhances the specificity of association to CD4+ T cells. Similarly, functionalising mRNA-lipi..