vaccines-09-00403.pdf (2.41 MB)
AP205 VLPs based on dimerized capsid proteins accommodate RBM domain of SARS-CoV-2 and serve as an attractive vaccine candidate
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 00:39 authored by Xuelan Liu, Xinyue Chang, Dominik Rothen, Maria Derveni, Pascal Krenger, Salony Roongta, Edward WrightEdward Wright, Monique Vogel, Kaspars Tars, Mona O Mohsen, Martin F BachmannCOVID-19 is a novel disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 which has conquered the world rapidly resulting in a pandemic that massively impacts our health, social activities, and economy. It is likely that vaccination is the only way to form “herd immunity” and restore the world to normal. Here we developed a vaccine candidate for COVID-19 based on the virus-like particle AP205 displaying the spike receptor binding motif (RBM), which is the major target of neutralizing antibodies in convalescent patients. To this end, we genetically fused the RBM domain of SARS-CoV-2 to the C terminus of AP205 of dimerized capsid proteins. The fused VLPs were expressed in E. coli, which resulted in insoluble aggregates. These aggregates were denatured in 8 M urea followed by refolding, which reconstituted VLP formation as confirmed by electron microscopy analysis. Importantly, immunized mice were able to generate high levels of IgG antibodies recognizing eukaryotically expressed receptor binding domain (RBD) as well as spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, induced antibodies were able to neutralize SARS-CoV-2/ABS/NL20. Additionally, this vaccine candidate has the potential to be produced at large scale for immunization programs.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
VaccinesISSN
2076-393XPublisher
MDPIExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
9Page range
1-14Article number
a403Event location
SwitzerlandDepartment affiliated with
- Biochemistry Publications
Notes
This article belongs to the Special Issue VLP Based Coronavirus VaccinesFull text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-08-17First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-08-17First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-08-17Usage metrics
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