Biomimetic System Based on Reconstituted Macrophage Membranes for Analyzing and Selection of Higher-Affinity Ligands Specific to Mannose Receptor to Develop the Macrophage-Focused Medicines

Progress in macrophage research is crucial for numerous applications in medicine, including cancer and infectious diseases. However, the existing methods to manipulate living macrophages are labor-intense and inconvenient. Here, we show that macrophage membranes can be reconstituted after storage for months at 4 °C, with their CD206 receptor selectivity and specificity being similar to those in the living cells. Then, we have developed a mannose ligand, specific to CD206, linked with PEG as an IR spectroscopy marker to detect binding with the macrophage receptor. PEG was selected due to its unique adsorption band of the C–O–C group at IR spectra, which does not overlap with other biomolecules’ spectroscopic feature. Next, competitive binding assay versus the PEG-bound ligand has enabled the selection of other higher-affinity ligands specific to CD206. Furthermore, those higher-affinity ligands were used to differentiate activated macrophages in a patient’s bronchoalveolar (BAL) or nasopharyngeal (NPL) lavage. CD206− control cells (HEK293T) showed only non-specific binding. Therefore, biochips based on reconstituted macrophage membranes as well as PEG-trimannoside as an IR spectroscopic marker can be used to develop new methods facilitating macrophage research and macrophage-focused drug discovery.