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Coria LM, Rodriguez JM, Demaria A, Bruno LA, Medrano MR, Castro CP, Castro EF, Del Priore SA, Hernando Insua AC, Kaufmann IG, Saposnik LM, Stone WB, Prado L, Notaro US, Amweg AN, Diaz PU, Avaro M, Ortega H, Ceballos A, Krum V, Zurvarra FM, Sidabra JE, Drehe I, Baqué JA, Li Causi M, De Nichilo AV, Payes CJ, Southard T, Vega JC, Auguste AJ, Álvarez DE, Flo JM, Pasquevich KA, Cassataro J. A Gamma-adapted subunit vaccine induces broadly neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants and protects mice from infection. Nat Commun 2024; 15:997. [PMID: 38307851 PMCID: PMC10837449 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45180-8] [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: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
In the context of continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs), one strategy to prevent the severe outcomes of COVID-19 is developing safe and effective broad-spectrum vaccines. Here, we present preclinical studies of a RBD vaccine derived from the Gamma SARS-CoV-2 variant adjuvanted with Alum. The Gamma-adapted RBD vaccine is more immunogenic than the Ancestral RBD vaccine in terms of inducing broader neutralizing antibodies. The Gamma RBD presents more immunogenic B-cell restricted epitopes and induces a higher proportion of specific-B cells and plasmablasts than the Ancestral RBD version. The Gamma-adapted vaccine induces antigen specific T cell immune responses and confers protection against Ancestral and Omicron BA.5 SARS-CoV-2 challenge in mice. Moreover, the Gamma RBD vaccine induces higher and broader neutralizing antibody activity than homologous booster vaccination in mice previously primed with different SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platforms. Our study indicates that the adjuvanted Gamma RBD vaccine is highly immunogenic and a broad-spectrum vaccine candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena M Coria
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Juan Manuel Rodriguez
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
- Fundación Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Agostina Demaria
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura A Bruno
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mayra Rios Medrano
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Celeste Pueblas Castro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Eliana F Castro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sabrina A Del Priore
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Andres C Hernando Insua
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
- Fundación Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Ingrid G Kaufmann
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Lucas M Saposnik
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - William B Stone
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Lineia Prado
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ulises S Notaro
- Centro de Medicina Comparada, ICiVet-Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral-CONICET; Esperanza, Santa Fe, 3080, Argentina
| | - Ayelen N Amweg
- Centro de Medicina Comparada, ICiVet-Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral-CONICET; Esperanza, Santa Fe, 3080, Argentina
| | - Pablo U Diaz
- Centro de Medicina Comparada, ICiVet-Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral-CONICET; Esperanza, Santa Fe, 3080, Argentina
| | - Martin Avaro
- Servicio Virosis Respiratorias, Laboratorio de Referencia de Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 y otros Virus Respiratorios, Centro Nacional de Influenza de OPS/OMS, Departamento de Virología, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas - ANLIS "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán". Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1282AFF, Argentina
| | - Hugo Ortega
- Centro de Medicina Comparada, ICiVet-Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral-CONICET; Esperanza, Santa Fe, 3080, Argentina
| | - Ana Ceballos
- Facultad de Medicina UBA, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA, INBIRS-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Valeria Krum
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Francisco M Zurvarra
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
- Fundación Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Johanna E Sidabra
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Ignacio Drehe
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Jonathan A Baqué
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Mariana Li Causi
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Analia V De Nichilo
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
- Fundación Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Cristian J Payes
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Teresa Southard
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Julio C Vega
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará - I+D+i, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1408GBV, Argentina
| | - Albert J Auguste
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Diego E Álvarez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Juan M Flo
- Laboratorio Pablo Cassará, Unidad de I+D de Biofármacos, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1440FFX, Argentina
| | - Karina A Pasquevich
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Juliana Cassataro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Puente V, Demaria A, Frank FM, Batlle A, Lombardo ME. Anti-parasitic effect of vitamin C alone and in combination with benznidazole against Trypanosoma cruzi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006764. [PMID: 30240395 PMCID: PMC6169970 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drugs currently used for the treatment of Chagas' disease, nifurtimox and benznidazole, have a limited effectiveness and toxic side effects. With the aim of finding new therapeutic approaches, in vitro and in vivo anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity of vitamin C alone and combined with benznidazole were investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The trypanocidal activity on epimastigote and trypomastigote forms was evaluated by counting parasites in a Neubauer chamber after treatment with the compounds. For the amastigote stage, transgenic parasites expressing β-galactosidase were used and quantified by measuring the β-galactosidase activity. The cytotoxicity of compounds was tested on Vero cells. The redox state of the parasite was evaluated by determining the reduced thiol levels (spectrophotometric assay) and the intracellular oxidative state (by flow cytometry). The in vivo trypanocidal activity was evaluated on a murine model of Chagas' disease. The trypanocidal activity of vitamin C and benznidazole was similar for the three parasite forms. When combining both drugs, vitamin C did not induce any change in the antiparasitic activity of benznidazole on trypomastigotes; however, on mammal cells, vitamin C diminished the cytotoxicity degree of benznidazole. Two mechanisms of action may be postulated for vitamin C: a lethal pro-oxidant effect on the parasite when used alone, and an antioxidant effect, when combined with benznidazole. A similar behavior was observed on infected mice; i.e., parasite counts in infected mice treated with vitamin C were lower than that of the control group. Animals treated with benznidazole presented lower parasitemia levels, as compared with those treated with vitamin C alone. Again, vitamin C did not cause any effect on the antiparasitic profile of benznidazole. Even though a combined treatment was employed, the antioxidant effect of vitamin C on the host was evidenced; a 100% survival was observed and the weight loss occurring during the acute phase of the infection was reduced. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Based on these results, the combination of vitamin C with benznidazole could be considered as an alternative treatment for Chagas' disease. These preliminary results encourage further research to improve the treatment of Chagas' disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanesa Puente
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Porfirinas y Porfirias, CIPYP (UBA-CONICET), Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agostina Demaria
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Porfirinas y Porfirias, CIPYP (UBA-CONICET), Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernanda M. Frank
- Instituto de Microbiología y Parasitología Médica, IMPAM (Universidad de Buenos Aires—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Cátedra de Inmunología, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alcira Batlle
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Porfirinas y Porfirias, CIPYP (UBA-CONICET), Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maria Elisa Lombardo
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Porfirinas y Porfirias, CIPYP (UBA-CONICET), Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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