Discovery of KC-1: a novel porcine dendritic cell-targeting peptide with potential applications in swine vaccine design.
7 affiliations
- 1College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China.
- 2Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment for Epizootic Diseases of Animals in Cold Regions of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast Agricultural University, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China.
- 3China Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Biology, Northeastern Science Inspection Station, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China.
- 4Heilongjiang Polytechnic, No. 5 Xuefu Road, Nangang District, Harbin, 150086, P.R. China.
- 5College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China. [email protected].
- 6Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment for Epizootic Diseases of Animals in Cold Regions of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast Agricultural University, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China. [email protected].
- 7China Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Biology, Northeastern Science Inspection Station, 600 Changjiang Street Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, P.R. China. [email protected].
Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells essential for initiating and regulating immune responses. While DC targeting has proven to be an effective strategy for vaccine enhancement, and targeting peptides have been extensively utilized as efficient delivery tools in DC-targeted drug and vaccine development, there remains a notable scarcity of peptides specifically selected through porcine dendritic cell screening platforms. In this study, phage display biopanning was employed to identify a novel DC-targeting peptide, designated KC (KCCYPNQMAAFA). Systematic alanine-scanning mutagenesis identified the N-terminal hexapeptide KC-1 (KCCYPN) as the minimal functional epitope responsible for DC binding. In addition to DCs, KC-1 also demonstrated selective binding to bone marrow-derived dendritic cells(BM-DCs)and porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) but exhibited no interaction with intestinal porcine epithelial (IPI) cells, swine testis (ST) cells, or Vero cells. Further analysis revealed that KC-1 specifically binds to the N-terminal region (1-126 aa) of SLA-DRB1, which is a key domain of the MHC II β-chain involved in the formation of the peptide-binding groove. Using the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) S1 subunit as a model antigen, we further evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of KC-1 on DCs in vitro. The results demonstrated that KC-1-S1 significantly promoted DCs maturation and T-cell proliferation, accompanied by increased secretion of IL-4, IL-12, and IFN-γ. These findings indicate that KC-1-S1 enhances the overall immunogenicity of the antigen, triggering a robust and mixed immune response encompassing both Th1- and Th2-type cytokine profiles compared to controls. Collectively, this study characterizes the binding profile and preliminary immunomodulatory activity of the novel peptide KC-1 at the cellular level, providing basic experimental data and a reference for further development of porcine DC-targeted antigen delivery strategies.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026discovery,
title = {{Discovery of KC-1: a novel porcine dendritic cell-targeting peptide with potential applications in swine vaccine design.}},
author = {Bin Liu and Tian Xia and Chengjie Bian and Yanping Jiang and Wen Cui and Jiaxuan Li and Yijing Li and Li Wang},
journal = {BMC veterinary research},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12917-026-05692-5},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897628},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Discovery of KC-1: a novel porcine dendritic cell-targeting peptide with potential applications in swine vaccine design.
AU - Bin Liu
AU - Tian Xia
AU - Chengjie Bian
AU - Yanping Jiang
AU - Wen Cui
AU - Jiaxuan Li
AU - Yijing Li
AU - Li Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/22
JO - BMC veterinary research
DO - 10.1186/s12917-026-05692-5
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897628
AB - Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells essential for initiating and regulating immune responses. While DC targeting has proven to be an effective strategy for vaccine enhancement, and targeting peptides have been extensively utilized as efficient delivery tools in DC-targeted drug and vaccine development, there remains a notable scarcity of peptides specifically selected through porcine dendritic cell screening platforms. In this study, phage display biopanning was employed to identify a novel DC-targeting peptide, designated KC (KCCYPNQMAAFA). Systematic alanine-scanning mutagenesis identified the N-terminal hexapeptide KC-1 (KCCYPN) as the minimal functional epitope responsible for DC binding. In addition to DCs, KC-1 also demonstrated selective binding to bone marrow-derived dendritic cells(BM-DCs)and porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) but exhibited no interaction with intestinal porcine epithelial (IPI) cells, swine testis (ST) cells, or Vero cells. Further analysis revealed that KC-1 specifically binds to the N-terminal region (1-126 aa) of SLA-DRB1, which is a key domain of the MHC II β-chain involved in the formation of the peptide-binding groove. Using the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) S1 subunit as a model antigen, we further evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of KC-1 on DCs in vitro. The results demonstrated that KC-1-S1 significantly promoted DCs maturation and T-cell proliferation, accompanied by increased secretion of IL-4, IL-12, and IFN-γ. These findings indicate that KC-1-S1 enhances the overall immunogenicity of the antigen, triggering a robust and mixed immune response encompassing both Th1- and Th2-type cytokine profiles compared to controls. Collectively, this study characterizes the binding profile and preliminary immunomodulatory activity of the novel peptide KC-1 at the cellular level, providing basic experimental data and a reference for further development of porcine DC-targeted antigen delivery strategies.
SN - 1746-6148
ER -