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Xu D, Powell AE, Utz A, Sanyal M, Do J, Patten JJ, Moliva JI, Sullivan NJ, Davey RA, Kim PS. Design of universal Ebola virus vaccine candidates via immunofocusing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316960121. [PMID: 38319964 PMCID: PMC10873634 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316960121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and poses a significant threat to global public health. Although two viral vector vaccines have been approved to prevent Ebola virus disease, they are distributed in the limited ring vaccination setting and only indicated for prevention of infection from orthoebolavirus zairense (EBOV)-one of three orthoebolavirus species that have caused previous outbreaks. Ebola virus glycoprotein GP mediates viral infection and serves as the primary target of neutralizing antibodies. Here, we describe a universal Ebola virus vaccine approach using a structure-guided design of candidates with hyperglycosylation that aims to direct antibody responses away from variable regions and toward conserved epitopes of GP. We first determined the hyperglycosylation landscape on Ebola virus GP and used that to generate hyperglycosylated GP variants with two to four additional glycosylation sites to mask the highly variable glycan cap region. We then created vaccine candidates by displaying wild-type or hyperglycosylated GP variants on ferritin nanoparticles (Fer). Immunization with these antigens elicited potent neutralizing antisera against EBOV in mice. Importantly, we observed consistent cross-neutralizing activity against Bundibugyo virus and Sudan virus from hyperglycosylated GP-Fer with two or three additional glycans. In comparison, elicitation of cross-neutralizing antisera was rare in mice immunized with wild-type GP-Fer. These results demonstrate a potential strategy to develop universal Ebola virus vaccines that confer cross-protective immunity against existing and emerging filovirus species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duo Xu
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Abigail E. Powell
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Ashley Utz
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Stanford Biophysics Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Mrinmoy Sanyal
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Jonathan Do
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - J. J. Patten
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA02118
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02118
| | - Juan I. Moliva
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA02118
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02118
| | - Nancy J. Sullivan
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA02118
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02118
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA02118
| | - Robert A. Davey
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA02118
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02118
| | - Peter S. Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA94158
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