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Baruah N, Ahamad N, Maiti S, Howlader DR, Bhaumik U, Patil VV, Chakrabarti MK, Koley H, Katti DS. Development of a Self-Adjuvanting, Cross-Protective, Stable Intranasal Recombinant Vaccine for Shigellosis. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:3182-3196. [PMID: 34734708 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
With the acquirement of antibiotic resistance, Shigella has resulted in multiple epidemics of shigellosis, an infectious diarrheal disease, causing thousands of deaths per year. Unfortunately, there are no licensed vaccines, primarily due to low or serotype-specific immunogenicity. Thus, conserved subunit vaccines utilizing recombinant invasion plasmid antigens (Ipa) have been explored as cross-protective vaccine candidates. However, achieving cross-protection against Shigella dysenteriae 1, which caused multiple pandemics/epidemics in the recent past, has been difficult. Therefore, a rational approach to improve cross-protection in the preparation for a possible pandemic should involve conserved proteins from S. dysenteriae 1 (Sd1). IpaC is one such conserved immunogenic protein that is less explored as an independent vaccine due to its instability/aggregation. Therefore, to improve cross-protection and potential immunogenicity and to be prepared for a future epidemic/pandemic, herein, we stabilized recombinant Sd1 IpaC, expressed without its chaperone, using a previously reported stabilizing detergent (LDAO) in a modified protocol and assessed its vaccine potential without an adjuvant. The protein assembled into heterogeneous complex spherical structures in the presence of LDAO and showed improved stability at storage temperatures of -80, -20, 4, 25, and 37 °C while providing enhanced yield and concentration. The protein could also be stably lyophilized and reconstituted, increasing the convenience of transportation and storage. Upon intranasal administration in BALB/c mice, the stabilized-IpaC-immunized groups generated significant antibody response and were not only protected against a high intraperitoneal dose of homologous S. dysenteriae 1 but also showed 100% survival against heterologous Shigella flexneri 2a without an adjuvant, while the control animals showed visible diarrhea (bloody-Sd1 challenge), lethargy, and weight loss with 0% survival. Overall, this work demonstrates that stabilized IpaC can be explored as a minimalist, self-adjuvanting, cross-protective, intranasal, single-antigen Shigella vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namrata Baruah
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
- The Mehta Family Centre for Engineering in Medicine, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Nadim Ahamad
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Suhrid Maiti
- Division of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, P-33 CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India
| | - Debaki R. Howlader
- Division of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, P-33 CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India
| | - Ushasi Bhaumik
- Division of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, P-33 CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India
| | - Vinod V. Patil
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Manoj K. Chakrabarti
- Division of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, P-33 CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India
| | - Hemanta Koley
- Division of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, P-33 CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India
| | - Dhirendra S. Katti
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
- The Mehta Family Centre for Engineering in Medicine, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Hanna CC, Ashhurst AS, Quan D, Maxwell JWC, Britton WJ, Payne RJ. Synthetic protein conjugate vaccines provide protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2013730118. [PMID: 33468674 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013730118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The global incidence of tuberculosis remains unacceptably high, with new preventative strategies needed to reduce the burden of disease. We describe here a method for the generation of synthetic self-adjuvanted protein vaccines and demonstrate application in vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Two vaccine constructs were designed, consisting of full-length ESAT6 protein fused to the TLR2-targeting adjuvants Pam2Cys-SK4 or Pam3Cys-SK4 These were produced by chemical synthesis using a peptide ligation strategy. The synthetic self-adjuvanting vaccines generated powerful local CD4+ T cell responses against ESAT6 and provided significant protection in the lungs from virulent M. tuberculosis aerosol challenge when administered to the pulmonary mucosa of mice. The flexible synthetic platform we describe, which allows incorporation of adjuvants to multiantigenic vaccines, represents a general approach that can be applied to rapidly assess vaccination strategies in preclinical models for a range of diseases, including against novel pandemic pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.
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Xu Z, Rivera-Hernandez T, Moyle PM. Development of an Enzyme-Mediated, Site-Specific Method to Conjugate Toll-Like Receptor 2 Agonists onto Protein Antigens: Toward a Broadly Protective, Four Component, Group A Streptococcal Self-Adjuvanting Lipoprotein-Fusion Combination Vaccine. ACS Infect Dis 2020; 6:1770-1782. [PMID: 32407620 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Subunit vaccines composed of protein antigens covalently attached to Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists elicit superior immune responses compared to mixtures of antigens and TLR agonists. Among different conjugation approaches, enzyme-mediated ligation is one of the few that provides an opportunity for the generation of homogeneous, molecularly defined products in which protein antigens are maintained with native structures, which is most critical to elicit protective immune responses upon vaccination. Four highly conserved protein antigens from Group A Streptococcus (GAS) have the potential to be safe and efficacious vaccine candidates. After a TLR2 agonist fibroblast-stimulating lipopeptide-1 (FSL-1) was successfully attached onto each antigen using sortase A and techniques for their purification were developed, a combination vaccine containing interleukin 8 (IL-8) protease (Streptococcus pyogenes cell envelope proteinase [SpyCEP]), Group A Streptococcal C5a peptidase (SCPA), anchorless virulence factor arginine deiminase (ADI), and trigger factor (TF)-TLR2 conjugates was produced. This combination was assessed for immunity in mice and compared with mixtures of the four antigens with FSL-1 or alum. High titer antigen-specific IgG antibodies were detected from all vaccine groups, with antibodies elicited from FSL-1 conjugates around 10-fold higher compared to the FSL-1 mixture group. Furthermore, the FSL-1 conjugates afforded a more balanced TH1/TH2 immune response than the alum-adjuvanted group, suggesting that this combination vaccine represents a promising candidate for the prevention of GAS diseases. Thus, we established a conjugation platform that allows for the production of defined, site-specific antigen-adjuvant conjugates, which maintain the native three-dimensional structure of antigens and can be potentially applied to a variety of protein antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenghui Xu
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia
| | - Tania Rivera-Hernandez
- Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre and School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Cátedras CONACYT - Unidad de Investigación Médica en Inmunoquímica, Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, México
| | - Peter Michael Moyle
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia
- Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre and School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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Wu Y, Norberg PK, Reap EA, Congdon KL, Fries CN, Kelly SH, Sampson JH, Conticello VP, Collier JH. A Supramolecular Vaccine Platform Based on α-Helical Peptide Nanofibers. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2017; 3:3128-3132. [PMID: 30740520 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
A supramolecular peptide vaccine system was designed in which epitope-bearing peptides self-assemble into elongated nanofibers composed almost entirely of alpha-helical structure. The nanofibers were readily internalized by antigen presenting cells and produced robust antibody, CD4+ T-cell, and CD8+ T-cell responses without supplemental adjuvants in mice. Epitopes studied included a cancer B-cell epitope from the epidermal growth factor receptor class III variant (EGFRvIII), the universal CD4+ T-cell epitope PADRE, and the model CD8+ T-cell epitope SIINFEKL, each of which could be incorporated into supramolecular multi-epitope nanofibers in a modular fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoying Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, United States
| | - Pamela K Norberg
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - Elizabeth A Reap
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - Kendra L Congdon
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - Chelsea N Fries
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, United States
| | - Sean H Kelly
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, United States
| | - John H Sampson
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - Vincent P Conticello
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
| | - Joel H Collier
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, United States
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Pompano RR, Chen J, Verbus EA, Han H, Fridman A, McNeely T, Collier JH, Chong AS. Titrating T-cell epitopes within self-assembled vaccines optimizes CD4+ helper T cell and antibody outputs. Adv Healthc Mater 2014; 3:1898-908. [PMID: 24923735 PMCID: PMC4227912 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201400137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [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: 03/08/2014] [Revised: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Epitope content plays a critical role in determining T-cell and antibody responses to vaccines, biomaterials, and protein therapeutics, but its effects are nonlinear and difficult to isolate. Here, molecular self-assembly is used to build a vaccine with precise control over epitope content, in order to finely tune the magnitude and phenotype of T helper and antibody responses. Self-adjuvanting peptide nanofibers are formed by co-assembling a high-affinity universal CD4+ T-cell epitope (PADRE) and a B-cell epitope from Staphylococcus aureus at specifiable concentrations. Increasing the PADRE concentration from micromolar to millimolar elicited bell-shaped dose-responses that are unique to different T-cell populations. Notably, the epitope ratios that maximize T follicular helper and antibody responses differed by an order of magnitude from those that maximized Th1 or Th2 responses. Thus, modular materials assembly provides a means of controlling epitope content and efficiently skewing the adaptive immune response in the absence of exogenous adjuvant; this approach may contribute to the development of improved vaccines and immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca R. Pompano
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Jianjun Chen
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Emily A. Verbus
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Huifang Han
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | | | | | - Joel H. Collier
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Anita S. Chong
- Department of Surgery, Committee of Immunology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC5032, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
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Dougall AM, Skwarczynski M, Khoshnejad M, Chandrudu S, Daly NL, Toth I, Loukas A. Lipid core peptide targeting the cathepsin D hemoglobinase of Schistosoma mansoni as a component of a schistosomiasis vaccine. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2013; 10:399-409. [PMID: 24231271 DOI: 10.4161/hv.27057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The self-adjuvanting lipid core peptide (LCP) system offers a safe alternative vaccine delivery strategy, eliminating the need for additional adjuvants such as CpG Alum. In this study, we adopted the LCP as a scaffold for an epitope located on the surface of the cathepsin D hemoglobinase (Sm-CatD) of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. Sm-CatD plays a pivotal role in digestion of the fluke's bloodmeal and has been shown to be efficacious as a subunit vaccine in a murine model of human schistosomiasis. Using molecular modeling we showed that S. mansoni cathepsin D possesses a predicted surface exposed α-helix (A₂₆₃K) that corresponds to an immunodominant helix and target of enzyme-neutralizing antibodies against Necator americanus APR-1 (Na-APR-1), the orthologous protease and vaccine antigen from blood-feeding hookworms. The A₂₆₃K epitope was engineered as two peptide variants, one of which was flanked at both termini with a coil maintaining sequence, thereby promoting the helical characteristics of the native A₂₆₃K epitope. Some of the peptides were fused to a self-adjuvanting lipid core scaffold to generate LCPs. Mice were vaccinated with unadjuvanted peptides, peptides formulated with Freund's adjuvants, or LCPs. Antibodies generated to LCPs recognized native Sm-CatD within a soluble adult schistosome extract, and almost completely abolished its enzymatic activity in vitro. Using immunohistochemistry we showed that anti-LCP antibodies bound to the native Sm-CatD protein in the esophagus and anterior regions of the gastrodermis of adult flukes. Vaccines offer an alternative control strategy in the fight against schistosomiasis, and further development of LCPs containing multiple epitopes from this and other vaccine antigens should become a research priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette M Dougall
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine; Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics; James Cook University; Cairns, QLD Australia
| | - Mariusz Skwarczynski
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine; Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics; James Cook University; Cairns, QLD Australia; The University of Queensland; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; St. Lucia; QLD Australia; The University of Queensland; School of Pharmacy; Wooloongabba, QLD Australia
| | - Makan Khoshnejad
- The University of Queensland; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; St. Lucia; QLD Australia
| | - Saranya Chandrudu
- The University of Queensland; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; St. Lucia; QLD Australia
| | - Norelle L Daly
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine; Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics; James Cook University; Cairns, QLD Australia
| | - Istvan Toth
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine; Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics; James Cook University; Cairns, QLD Australia; The University of Queensland; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; St. Lucia; QLD Australia; The University of Queensland; School of Pharmacy; Wooloongabba, QLD Australia
| | - Alex Loukas
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine; Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics; James Cook University; Cairns, QLD Australia
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Zaman M, Toth I. Immunostimulation by synthetic lipopeptide-based vaccine candidates: structure-activity relationships. Front Immunol 2013; 4:318. [PMID: 24130558 PMCID: PMC3793171 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 09/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptide-based vaccines offer several advantages over conventional whole organism or protein approaches by offering improved purity and specificity in inducing immune response. However, peptides alone are generally non-immunogenic. Concerns remain about the toxicity of adjuvants which are critical for immunogenicity of synthetic peptides. The use of lipopeptides in peptide vaccines is currently under intensive investigation because potent immune responses can be generated without the use of adjuvant (thus are self-adjuvanting). Several lipopeptides derived from microbial origin, and their synthetic versions or simpler fatty acid moieties impart this self-adjuvanting activity by signaling via Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Engagement of this innate immune receptor on antigen-presenting cell leads to the initiation and development of potent immune responses. Therefore optimization of lipopeptides to enhance TLR2-mediated activation is a promising strategy for vaccine development. Considerable structure-activity relationships that determine TLR2 binding and consequent stimulation of innate immune responses have been investigated for a range of lipopeptides. In this mini review we address the development of lipopeptide vaccines, mechanism of TLR2 recognition, and immune activation. An overview is provided of the best studied lipopeptide vaccine systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehfuz Zaman
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
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Bergmann-Leitner ES, Hosie H, Trichilo J, Deriso E, Ranallo RT, Alefantis T, Savranskaya T, Grewal P, Ockenhouse CF, Venkatesan MM, Delvecchio VG, Angov E. Self-adjuvanting bacterial vectors expressing pre-erythrocytic antigens induce sterile protection against malaria. Front Immunol 2013; 4:176. [PMID: 23847617 PMCID: PMC3701146 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetically inactivated, Gram-negative bacteria that express malaria vaccine candidates represent a promising novel self-adjuvanting vaccine approach. Antigens expressed on particulate bacterial carriers not only target directly to antigen-presenting cells but also provide a strong danger signal thus circumventing the requirement for potent extraneous adjuvants. E. coli expressing malarial antigens resulted in the induction of either Th1 or Th2 biased responses that were dependent on both antigen and sub-cellular localization. Some of these constructs induced higher quality humoral responses compared to recombinant protein and most importantly they were able to induce sterile protection against sporozoite challenge in a murine model of malaria. In light of these encouraging results, two major Plasmodium falciparum pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine targets, the Cell-Traversal protein for Ookinetes and Sporozoites (CelTOS) fused to the Maltose-binding protein in the periplasmic space and the Circumsporozoite Protein (CSP) fused to the Outer membrane (OM) protein A in the OM were expressed in a clinically relevant, attenuated Shigella strain (Shigella flexneri 2a). This type of live-attenuated vector has previously undergone clinical investigations as a vaccine against shigellosis. Using this novel delivery platform for malaria, we find that vaccination with the whole-organism represents an effective vaccination alternative that induces protective efficacy against sporozoite challenge. Shigella GeMI-Vax expressing malaria targets warrant further evaluation to determine their full potential as a dual disease, multivalent, self-adjuvanting vaccine system, against both shigellosis, and malaria.
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