Synthesis of peptide conjugates with vitamins for induction of antigen-specific immunotolerance.

In this report, we designed conjugates of an antigen peptide with the immunosuppressive vitamins all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and vitamin D3 for efficient induction of antigen-specific immunotolerance. We established a synthetic scheme for the preparation of the peptide-vitamin conjugates, which the chemically unstable vitamins tolerated. Among the obtained conjugates, the ATRA conjugate successfully suppressed inflammatory effects in macrophages and dendritic cells and induced antigen presentation in dendritic cells. This synthetic method of conjugate is conceivably applicable to other antigen peptides for induction of antigen-specific immunotolerance.