# Biodegradable polymeric microparticles comprised of acetalated dextran induce immune tolerance

> **NIH AI R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2026 · $516,506

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The clinical treatment of autoimmune diseases traditionally uses immunosuppression to curtail the pathogenesis
of the autoimmune disease. An alternative for general immune suppression, is antigen specific tolerance.
However, there is currently no antigen specific tolerance therapy in the clinics. We have recently discovered
serendipitously that degradable microparticles comprised of the biopolymer acetalated dextran (Ace-DEX) can
specifically bind to the surface of B cells both in vitro and in vivo. The binding of this biomaterial microparticle to
B cells is due to the protein corona that is uniquely generated by Ace-DEX. The binding of this specific biomaterial
to the B cell surface results in the generation of the tolerogenic cytokine IL-10. Uniquely this phenomenon is not
observed when the microparticles are fabricated through emulsion, but only when they are fabricated through a
spray drying technique. In comparison to other biomaterials, such as poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) the
observed phenomenon is significantly less compared to Ace-DEX. We observed less binding to B cells and
diminished production of IL-10, indicating that our observed effect is biomaterial specific. Further, in the treatment
of an animal model of MS, Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE), we show that administration of
Ace-DEX MPs encapsulating Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) bound to B cells can drastically
decrease the clinical score of EAE. The degree of reduction of clinical score for our treatment in the EAE model
was greater than observed in other published antigen specific EAE treatments that used biomaterial particle
systems. Further it is significantly improved in comparison to microparticles of other biomaterials (i.e. PLGA). At
peak disease we show a drastic decrease in the symptoms of mice with EAE. In this grant we propose three
specific aims. In aim one we will focus on biomaterial particle synthesis and characterize the protein corona on
th

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11232353
- **Project number:** 5R01AI187725-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristy M Ainslie
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AI
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $516,506
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-11-15T00:00:00 → 2029-10-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11232353

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11232353, Biodegradable polymeric microparticles comprised of acetalated dextran induce immune tolerance (5R01AI187725-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11232353. Licensed CC0.

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