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Phiri K, Grill L. Development of a Candidate TMV Epitope Display Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines (Basel) 2024; 12:448. [PMID: 38793699 PMCID: PMC11125883 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12050448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Essential in halting the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, it is crucial to have stable, effective, and easy-to-manufacture vaccines. We developed a potential vaccine using a tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) epitope display model presenting peptides derived from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The TMV-epitope fusions in laboratory tests demonstrated binding to the SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal antibodies. The fusion constructs maintained critical epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and two in particular spanned regions of the receptor-binding domain that have mutated in the more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants. This would allow for the rapid modification of vaccines in response to changes in circulating variants. The TMV-peptide fusion constructs also remained stable for over 28 days when stored at temperatures between -20 and 37 °C, an ideal property when targeting developing countries. Immunogenicity studies conducted on BALB/c mice elicited robust antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2. A strong IFNγ response was also observed in immunized mice. Three of the six TMV-peptide fusion constructs produced virus-neutralizing titers, as measured with a pseudovirus neutralization assay. These TMV-peptide fusion constructs can be combined to make a multivalent vaccine that could be adapted to meet changing virus variants. These findings demonstrate the development of a stable COVID-19 vaccine candidate by combining SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-derived peptides presented on the surface of a TMV nanoparticle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelvin Phiri
- Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, CA 91711, USA;
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Zadeh SMM, Bayat AA, Shahsavarani H, Karimi-Busheri F, Kiani J, Ghods R, Madjd Z. Novel neutralizing SARS-CoV-2-specific mAbs offer detection of RBD linear epitopes. Virol J 2024; 21:37. [PMID: 38317249 PMCID: PMC10845636 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-024-02304-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND To stop the spread of the COVID-19 disease, it is crucial to create molecular tools to investigate and diagnose COVID-19. Current efforts focus on developing specific neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NmAbs) elicited against the receptor-binding domain (RBD). METHODS In the present study, recombinant RBD (rRBD) protein was produced in E. coli, followed by immunizing mice with purified rRBD. ELISA was applied to screen the hybridomas for positive reactivity with rRBD protein. The linear and conformational epitopes of the mAbs were subsequently identified using western blot. Finally, the reactivity, affinity, and neutralization activity of the purified mAbs were evaluated using ELISA. RESULTS All mAbs exhibited similar reactivity trends towards both eukaryotic RBD and prokaryotic rRBD in ELISA. Among them, 2E7-D2 and 2B4-G8 mAbs demonstrated higher reactivity than other mAbs. Additionally, in western blot assays, these two mAbs could detect reducing and non-reducing rRBD, indicating recognition of linear epitopes. Notably, five mAbs effectively blocked rRBD- angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) interaction, while two high-affinity mAbs exhibited potent neutralizing activity against eukaryotic RBD. CONCLUSION In the current study, we generated and characterized new RBD-specific mAbs using the hybridoma technique that recognized linear and conformational epitopes in RBD with neutralization potency. Our mAbs are novel candidates for diagnosing and treating SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi Zadeh
- Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Ahmad Bayat
- Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hosein Shahsavarani
- Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine and Biomedical Innovations, Pasteur Institute of Iran, National Cell Bank, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Feridoun Karimi-Busheri
- Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada
| | - Jafar Kiani
- Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Roya Ghods
- Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Zahra Madjd
- Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Maghsood F, Ghorbani A, Yadegari H, Golsaz-Shirazi F, Amiri MM, Shokri F. SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid: Biological functions and implication for disease diagnosis and vaccine design. Rev Med Virol 2023; 33:e2431. [PMID: 36790816 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is transmitted by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has affected millions of people all around the world, leading to more than 6.5 million deaths. The nucleocapsid (N) phosphoprotein plays important roles in modulating viral replication and transcription, virus-infected cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and regulation of host innate immunity. As an immunodominant protein, N protein induces strong humoral and cellular immune responses in COVID-19 patients, making it a key marker for studying N-specific B cell and T cell responses and the development of diagnostic serological assays and efficient vaccines. In this review, we focus on the structural and functional features and the kinetic and epitope mapping of B cell and T cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 N protein to extend our understanding on the development of sensitive and specific diagnostic immunological tests and effective vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faezeh Maghsood
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ahmad Ghorbani
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamidreza Yadegari
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Forough Golsaz-Shirazi
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Amiri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fazel Shokri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Maghsood F, Amiri MM, Zarnani AH, Salimi V, Kardar GA, Khoshnoodi J, Mobini M, Ahmadi Zare H, Ghaderi A, Jeddi-Tehrani M, Schmidt S, Laumond G, Moog C, Shokri F. Epitope mapping of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 neutralizing receptor binding domain-specific monoclonal antibodies. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:973036. [PMID: 36148457 PMCID: PMC9485472 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.973036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the outbreak led to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Receptor binding domain (RBD) of spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 is considered as a major target for immunotherapy and vaccine design. Here, we generated and characterized a panel of anti-RBD monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) isolated from eukaryotic recombinant RBD-immunized mice by hybridoma technology. Epitope mapping was performed using a panel of 20-mer overlapping peptides spanning the entire sequence of the RBD protein from wild-type (WT) Wuhan strain by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Several hybridomas showed reactivity toward restricted RBD peptide pools by Pepscan analysis, with more focus on peptides encompassing aa 76-110 and 136-155. However, our MAbs with potent neutralizing activity which block SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudovirus as well as the WT virus entry into angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) expressing HEK293T cells showed no reactivity against these peptides. These findings, largely supported by the Western blotting results suggest that the neutralizing MAbs recognize mainly conformational epitopes. Moreover, our neutralizing MAbs recognized the variants of concern (VOC) currently in circulation, including alpha, beta, gamma, and delta by ELISA, and neutralized alpha and omicron variants at different levels by conventional virus neutralization test (CVNT). While the neutralization of MAbs to the alpha variant showed no substantial difference as compared with the WT virus, their neutralizing activity was lower on omicron variant, suggesting the refractory effect of mutations in emerging variants against this group of neutralizing MAbs. Also, the binding reactivity of our MAbs to delta variant showed a modest decline by ELISA, implying that our MAbs are insensitive to the substitutions in the RBD of delta variant. Our data provide important information for understanding the immunogenicity of RBD, and the potential application of the novel neutralizing MAbs for passive immunotherapy of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faezeh Maghsood
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Amiri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir-Hassan Zarnani
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahid Salimi
- Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Gholam Ali Kardar
- Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jalal Khoshnoodi
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Mobini
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hengameh Ahmadi Zare
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abbas Ghaderi
- Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mahmood Jeddi-Tehrani
- Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
| | - Sylvie Schmidt
- Laboratoire d’ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) UMR_S 1109, Institut Thématique Interdisciplinaire (ITI) de Médecine de Précision de Strasbourg, Transplantex NG, Faculté de Médecine, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire OMICARE, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg, France
| | - Géraldine Laumond
- Laboratoire d’ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) UMR_S 1109, Institut Thématique Interdisciplinaire (ITI) de Médecine de Précision de Strasbourg, Transplantex NG, Faculté de Médecine, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire OMICARE, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg, France
| | - Christiane Moog
- Laboratoire d’ImmunoRhumatologie Moléculaire, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) UMR_S 1109, Institut Thématique Interdisciplinaire (ITI) de Médecine de Précision de Strasbourg, Transplantex NG, Faculté de Médecine, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire OMICARE, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg, France
| | - Fazel Shokri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Ghotloo S, Maghsood F, Golsaz‐Shirazi F, Amiri MM, Moog C, Shokri F. Epitope mapping of neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies: Implications for immunotherapy and vaccine design. Rev Med Virol 2022; 32:e2347. [PMID: 35394093 PMCID: PMC9111153 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This disease has currently affected more than 346 million people and resulted in more than 5.5 million deaths in many countries. Neutralising monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the SARS-CoV-2 virus could serve as prophylactic/therapeutic agents in COVID-19 infection by providing passive protection against the virus in individuals. Until now, no Food and Drug Administration/European Medicines Agency-approved neutralising MAb against SARS-CoV-2 virus exists in the market, though a number of MAbs have been authorised for emergency use. Therefore, there is an urgent need for development of efficient anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralising MAbs for use in the clinic. Moreover, neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 MAbs could be used as beneficial tools for designing epitope-based vaccines against the virus. Given that the target epitope of a MAb is a crucial feature influencing its neutralising potency, target epitopes of neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 MAbs already reported in the literature and reactivity of these MAbs with SARS-CoV-2 variants are reviewed herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somayeh Ghotloo
- Department of Medical Laboratory SciencesSchool of Allied Medical SciencesKashan University of Medical SciencesKashanIran
| | - Faezeh Maghsood
- Department of ImmunologySchool of Public HealthTehran University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
| | - Forough Golsaz‐Shirazi
- Department of ImmunologySchool of Public HealthTehran University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Amiri
- Department of ImmunologySchool of Public HealthTehran University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
| | - Christiane Moog
- Laboratoire d’ImmunoRhumatologie MoléculaireInstitut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) UMR_S 1109Institut thématique interdisciplinaire (ITI) de Médecine de Précision de StrasbourgTransplantex NGFaculté de MédecineFédération Hospitalo‐Universitaire OMICAREFédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS)Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance
| | - Fazel Shokri
- Department of ImmunologySchool of Public HealthTehran University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
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