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Ou L, Gulla K, Biju A, Biner DW, Bylund T, Changela A, Chen SJ, Zheng CY, Cibelli N, Corrigan AR, Duan H, Gonelli CA, Kong WP, Cheng C, O’Dell S, Sarfo EK, Shaddeau A, Wang S, Vinitsky A, Yang Y, Zhang B, Zhang Y, Koup RA, Doria-Rose NA, Gall JG, Mascola JR, Kwong PD. Assessment of Crosslinkers between Peptide Antigen and Carrier Protein for Fusion Peptide-Directed Vaccines against HIV-1. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10111916. [PMID: 36423012 PMCID: PMC9698951 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Conjugate-vaccine immunogens require three components: a carrier protein, an antigen, and a crosslinker, capable of coupling antigen to carrier protein, while preserving both T-cell responses from carrier protein and B-cell responses from antigen. We previously showed that the N-terminal eight residues of the HIV-1 fusion peptide (FP8) as an antigen could prime for broad cross-clade neutralizing responses, that recombinant heavy chain of tetanus toxin (rTTHC) as a carrier protein provided optimal responses, and that choice of crosslinker could impact both antigenicity and immunogenicity. Here, we delve more deeply into the impact of varying the linker between FP8 and rTTHC. In specific, we assessed the physical properties, the antigenicity, and the immunogenicity of conjugates for crosslinkers ranging in spacer-arm length from 1.5 to 95.2 Å, with varying hydrophobicity and crosslinking-functional groups. Conjugates coupled with different degrees of multimerization and peptide-to-rTTHC stoichiometry, but all were well recognized by HIV-fusion-peptide-directed antibodies VRC34.01, VRC34.05, PGT151, and ACS202 except for the conjugate with the longest linker (24-PEGylated SMCC; SM(PEG)24), which had lower affinity for ACS202, as did the conjugate with the shortest linker (succinimidyl iodoacetate; SIA), which also had the lowest peptide-to-rTTHC stoichiometry. Murine immunizations testing seven FP8-rTTHC conjugates elicited fusion-peptide-directed antibody responses, with SIA- and SM(PEG)24-linked conjugates eliciting lower responses than the other five conjugates. After boosting with prefusion-closed envelope trimers from strains BG505 clade A and consensus clade C, trimer-directed antibody-binding responses were lower for the SIA-linked conjugate; elicited neutralizing responses were similar, however, though statistically lower for the SM(PEG)24-linked conjugate, when tested against a strain especially sensitive to fusion-peptide-directed responses. Overall, correlation analyses revealed the immunogenicity of FP8-rTTHC conjugates to be negatively impacted by hydrophilicity and extremes of length or low peptide-carrier stoichiometry, but robust to other linker parameters, with several commonly used crosslinkers yielding statistically indistinguishable serological results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ou
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Ou L, Kong WP, Chuang GY, Ghosh M, Gulla K, O'Dell S, Varriale J, Barefoot N, Changela A, Chao CW, Cheng C, Druz A, Kong R, McKee K, Rawi R, Sarfo EK, Schön A, Shaddeau A, Tsybovsky Y, Verardi R, Wang S, Wanninger TG, Xu K, Yang GJ, Zhang B, Zhang Y, Zhou T, Arnold FJ, Doria-Rose NA, Lei QP, Ryan ET, Vann WF, Mascola JR, Kwong PD. Preclinical Development of a Fusion Peptide Conjugate as an HIV Vaccine Immunogen. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3032. [PMID: 32080235 PMCID: PMC7033230 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59711-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The vaccine elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 is a long-sought goal. We previously reported the amino-terminal eight residues of the HIV-1-fusion peptide (FP8) - when conjugated to the carrier protein, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) - to be capable of inducing broadly neutralizing responses against HIV-1 in animal models. However, KLH is a multi-subunit particle derived from a natural source, and its manufacture as a clinical product remains a challenge. Here we report the preclinical development of recombinant tetanus toxoid heavy chain fragment (rTTHC) linked to FP8 (FP8-rTTHC) as a suitable FP-conjugate vaccine immunogen. We assessed 16 conjugates, made by coupling the 4 most prevalent FP8 sequences with 4 carrier proteins: the aforementioned KLH and rTTHC; the H. influenzae protein D (HiD); and the cross-reactive material from diphtheria toxin (CRM197). While each of the 16 FP8-carrier conjugates could elicit HIV-1-neutralizing responses, rTTHC conjugates induced higher FP-directed responses overall. A Sulfo-SIAB linker yielded superior results over an SM(PEG)2 linker but combinations of carriers, conjugation ratio of peptide to carrier, or choice of adjuvant (Adjuplex or Alum) did not significantly impact elicited FP-directed neutralizing responses in mice. Overall, SIAB-linked FP8-rTTHC appears to be a promising vaccine candidate for advancing to clinical assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ou
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Wing-Pui Kong
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Gwo-Yu Chuang
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Mridul Ghosh
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Krishana Gulla
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Sijy O'Dell
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Joseph Varriale
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Nathan Barefoot
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Anita Changela
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Cara W Chao
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Cheng Cheng
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Aliaksandr Druz
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Rui Kong
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Krisha McKee
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Reda Rawi
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Edward K Sarfo
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Arne Schön
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Andrew Shaddeau
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Yaroslav Tsybovsky
- Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Cancer Research Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21701, USA
| | - Raffaello Verardi
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Shuishu Wang
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Timothy G Wanninger
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Kai Xu
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Gengcheng J Yang
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Baoshan Zhang
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Yaqiu Zhang
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Tongqing Zhou
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Frank J Arnold
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Nicole A Doria-Rose
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Q Paula Lei
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Edward T Ryan
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, 02114, MA, USA
| | - Willie F Vann
- Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, 20993, MD, USA
| | - John R Mascola
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA
| | - Peter D Kwong
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
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