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Pisuttinusart N, Rattanapisit K, Srisaowakarn C, Thitithanyanont A, Strasser R, Shanmugaraj B, Phoolcharoen W. Neutralizing activity of anti-respiratory syncytial virus monoclonal antibody produced in Nicotiana benthamiana. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2024; 20:2327142. [PMID: 38508690 PMCID: PMC10956629 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2327142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious virus that affects the lungs and respiratory passages of many vulnerable people. It is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections and clinical complications, particularly among infants and elderly. It can develop into serious complications such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. The development of RSV vaccine or immunoprophylaxis remains highly active and a global health priority. Currently, GSK's Arexvy™ vaccine is approved for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease in older adults (>60 years). Palivizumab and currently nirsevimab are the approved monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for RSV prevention in high-risk patients. Many studies are ongoing to develop additional therapeutic antibodies for preventing RSV infections among newborns and other susceptible groups. Recently, additional antibodies have been discovered and shown greater potential for development as therapeutic alternatives to palivizumab and nirsevimab. Plant expression platforms have proven successful in producing recombinant proteins, including antibodies, offering a potential cost-effective alternative to mammalian expression platforms. Hence in this study, an attempt was made to use a plant expression platform to produce two anti-RSV fusion (F) mAbs 5C4 and CR9501. The heavy-chain and light-chain sequences of both these antibodies were transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants using a geminiviral vector and then purified using single-step protein A affinity column chromatography. Both these plant-produced mAbs showed specific binding to the RSV fusion protein and demonstrate effective viral neutralization activity in vitro. These preliminary findings suggest that plant-produced anti-RSV mAbs are able to neutralize RSV in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuttapat Pisuttinusart
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Kaewta Rattanapisit
- Department of Research and Development, Baiya Phytopharm Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Chanya Srisaowakarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Balamurugan Shanmugaraj
- Department of Research and Development, Baiya Phytopharm Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - Waranyoo Phoolcharoen
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
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Pisuttinusart N, Shanmugaraj B, Srisaowakarn C, Ketloy C, Prompetchara E, Thitithanyanont A, Phoolcharoen W. Immunogenicity of a recombinant plant-produced respiratory syncytial virus F subunit vaccine in mice. BIOTECHNOLOGY REPORTS (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2024; 41:e00826. [PMID: 38234330 PMCID: PMC10793081 DOI: 10.1016/j.btre.2023.e00826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly infectious respiratory virus that causes serious illness, particularly in young children, elderly people, and those with immunocompromised individuals. RSV infection is the leading cause of infant hospitalization and can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. Currently, there is an RSV vaccine approved exclusively for the elderly population, but no approved vaccine specifically designed for infants or any other age groups. Therefore, it is crucial to continue the development of an RSV vaccine specifically tailored for these populations. In this study, the immunogenicity of the two plant-produced RSV-F Fc fusion proteins (Native construct and structural stabilized construct) were examined to assess them as potential vaccine candidates for RSV. The RSV-F Fc fusion proteins were transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana and purified using protein A affinity column chromatography. The recombinant RSV-F Fc fusion protein was recognized by the monoclonal antibody Motavizumab specific against RSV-F protein. Moreover, the immunogenicity of the two purified RSV-F Fc proteins were evaluated in mice by formulating with different adjuvants. According to our results, the plant-produced RSV-F Fc fusion protein is immunogenic in mice. These preliminary findings, demonstrate the immunogenicity of plant-based RSV-F Fc fusion protein, however, further preclinical studies such as antigen dose and adjuvant optimization, safety, toxicity, and challenge studies in animal models are necessary in order to prove the vaccine efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuttapat Pisuttinusart
- Center of Excellence in Plant-produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Balamurugan Shanmugaraj
- Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore - 641046, Tamil Nadu, India
- Baiya Phytopharm Co., Ltd, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Chanya Srisaowakarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Chutitorn Ketloy
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Eakachai Prompetchara
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | | | - Waranyoo Phoolcharoen
- Center of Excellence in Plant-produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
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Wang S, Ding P, Shen L, Fan D, Cheng H, Huo J, Wei X, He H, Zhang G. Inhalable hybrid nanovaccines with virus-biomimetic structure boost protective immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants. J Nanobiotechnology 2024; 22:76. [PMID: 38414031 PMCID: PMC10898168 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-024-02345-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with different antigenic variants, has posed a significant threat to public health. It is urgent to develop inhalable vaccines, instead of injectable vaccines, to elicit mucosal immunity against respiratory viral infections. METHODS We reported an inhalable hybrid nanovaccine (NVRBD-MLipo) to boost protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nanovesicles derived from genetically engineered 293T cells expressing RBD (NVRBD) were fused with pulmonary surfactant (PS)-biomimetic liposomes containing MPLA (MLipo) to yield NVRBD-MLipo, which possessed virus-biomimetic structure, inherited RBD expression and versatile properties. RESULTS In contrast to subcutaneous vaccination, NVRBD-MLipo, via inhalable vaccination, could efficiently enter the alveolar macrophages (AMs) to elicit AMs activation through MPLA-activated TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, NVRBD-MLipo induced T and B cells activation, and high level of RBD-specific IgG and secretory IgA (sIgA), thus elevating protective mucosal and systemic immune responses, while reducing side effects. NVRBD-MLipo also demonstrated broad-spectrum neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 (WT, Delta, Omicron) pseudovirus, and protected immunized mice against WT pseudovirus infection. CONCLUSIONS This inhalable NVRBD-MLipo, as an effective and safe nanovaccine, holds huge potential to provoke robust mucosal immunity, and might be a promising vaccine candidate to combat respiratory infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqi Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Peiyang Ding
- School of Life Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Lingli Shen
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Daopeng Fan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Hanghang Cheng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Jian Huo
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
| | - Xin Wei
- Joint National Laboratory for Antibody Drug Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Hua He
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China.
| | - Gaiping Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China.
- Longhu Laboratory, Zhengzhou, 450046, China.
- School of Advanced Agriculture Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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Ruocco V, Vavra U, König-Beihammer J, Bolaños−Martínez OC, Kallolimath S, Maresch D, Grünwald-Gruber C, Strasser R. Impact of mutations on the plant-based production of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 RBDs. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1275228. [PMID: 37868317 PMCID: PMC10588190 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1275228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Subunit vaccines based on recombinant viral antigens are valuable interventions to fight existing and evolving viruses and can be produced at large-scale in plant-based expression systems. The recombinant viral antigens are often derived from glycosylated envelope proteins of the virus and glycosylation plays an important role for the immunogenicity by shielding protein epitopes. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike is a principal target for vaccine development and has been produced in plants, but the yields of recombinant RBD variants were low and the role of the N-glycosylation in RBD from different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern is less studied. Here, we investigated the expression and glycosylation of six different RBD variants transiently expressed in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. All of the purified RBD variants were functional in terms of receptor binding and displayed almost full N-glycan occupancy at both glycosylation sites with predominately complex N-glycans. Despite the high structural sequence conservation of the RBD variants, we detected a variation in yield which can be attributed to lower expression and differences in unintentional proteolytic processing of the C-terminal polyhistidine tag used for purification. Glycoengineering towards a human-type complex N-glycan profile with core α1,6-fucose, showed that the reactivity of the neutralizing antibody S309 differs depending on the N-glycan profile and the RBD variant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Ruocco
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Vavra
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia König-Beihammer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Omayra C. Bolaños−Martínez
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Somanath Kallolimath
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Maresch
- Core Facility Mass Spectrometry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Clemens Grünwald-Gruber
- Core Facility Mass Spectrometry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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Strasser R. Plant glycoengineering for designing next-generation vaccines and therapeutic proteins. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 67:108197. [PMID: 37315875 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Protein glycosylation has a huge impact on biological processes in all domains of life. The type of glycan present on a recombinant glycoprotein depends on protein intrinsic features and the glycosylation repertoire of the cell type used for expression. Glycoengineering approaches are used to eliminate unwanted glycan modifications and to facilitate the coordinated expression of glycosylation enzymes or whole metabolic pathways to furnish glycans with distinct modifications. The formation of tailored glycans enables structure-function studies and optimization of therapeutic proteins used in different applications. While recombinant proteins or proteins from natural sources can be in vitro glycoengineered using glycosyltransferases or chemoenzymatic synthesis, many approaches use genetic engineering involving the elimination of endogenous genes and introduction of heterologous genes to cell-based production systems. Plant glycoengineering enables the in planta production of recombinant glycoproteins with human or animal-type glycans that resemble natural glycosylation or contain novel glycan structures. This review summarizes key achievements in glycoengineering of plants and highlights current developments aiming to make plants more suitable for the production of a diverse range of recombinant glycoproteins for innovative therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Strasser
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
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Mamedov T, Yuksel D, Gurbuzaslan I, Ilgin M, Gulec B, Mammadova G, Ozdarendeli A, Pavel STI, Yetiskin H, Kaplan B, Uygut MA, Hasanova G. Plant-produced RBD and cocktail-based vaccine candidates are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2, independently of its emerging variants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1202570. [PMID: 37600182 PMCID: PMC10433747 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1202570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel and highly pathogenic coronavirus that caused an outbreak in Wuhan City, China, in 2019 and then spread rapidly throughout the world. Although several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are currently available for mass immunization, they are less effective against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially the Omicron (B.1.1.529). Recently, we successfully produced receptor-binding domain (RBD) variants of the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 and an antigen cocktail in Nicotiana benthamiana, which are highly produced in plants and elicited high-titer antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, based on neutralization ability, we demonstrate that plant-produced RBD and cocktail-based vaccine candidates are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2, independently of its emerging variants. These data demonstrate that plant-produced RBD and cocktail-based proteins are the most promising vaccine candidates and may protect against Delta and Omicron-mediated COVID-19. This is the first report describing vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, which demonstrate significant activities against Delta and Omicron variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarlan Mamedov
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, Ministry of Science and Education, Republic of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan
| | - Damla Yuksel
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Irem Gurbuzaslan
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Merve Ilgin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Burcu Gulec
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Gulshan Mammadova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Aykut Ozdarendeli
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Hazel Yetiskin
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Busra Kaplan
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Muhammet Ali Uygut
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Gulnara Hasanova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
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