ABSTRACT
Immunogenicity of the resulting conjugates is dependent on the mode of association of the peptide with the liposomes, and appears to arise out of a targeting by the peptide of immunostimulant directly to lymphocytes recognizing the peptide. It was recognized very early in the development of liposomes that they could act as carriers of haptens in much the same way that polysaccharides were used. Conventional adjuvants such as alum or Freund's adjuvant are not capable of inducing significant cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) and in particular pH sensitive liposomes, appear able to induce significant CTL for a wide variety of encapsulated antigens. The chapter explains how liposomes can be used to induce an immune response against proteins and peptides and the promise such an approach offers towards the development of synthetic vaccines. Since the immune response toward proteins and peptides is different, these will be treated separately.
