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Liu Z, Kabir MT, Chen S, Zhang H, Wakim LM, Rehm BHA. Intranasal Epitope-Polymer Vaccine Lodges Resident Memory T Cells Protecting Against Influenza Virus. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2304188. [PMID: 38411375 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202304188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Intranasal vaccines, unlike injectable vaccines, boost immunity along the respiratory tract; this can significantly limit respiratory virus replication and shedding. There remains a need to develop mucosal adjuvants and vaccine delivery systems that are both safe and effective following intranasal administration. Here, biopolymer particles (BP) densely coated with repeats of MHC class I restricted immunodominant epitopes derived from influenza A virus namely NP366, a nucleoprotein-derived epitope and PA224, a polymerase acidic subunit derived epitope, are bioengineered. These BP-NP366/PA224 can be manufactured at a high yield and are obtained at ≈93% purity, exhibiting ambient-temperature stability. Immunological characterization includes comparing systemic and mucosal immune responses mounted following intramuscular or intranasal immunization. Immunization with BP-NP366/PA224 without adjuvant triggers influenza-specific CD8+ T cell priming and memory CD8+ T cell development. Co-delivery with the adjuvant poly(I:C) significantly boosts the size and functionality of the influenza-specific pulmonary resident memory CD8+ T cell pool. Intranasal, but not intramuscular delivery of BP-NP366/PA224 with poly(I:C), provides protection against influenza virus challenge. Overall, the BP approach demonstrates as a suitable antigen formulation for intranasal delivery toward induction of systemic protective T cell responses against influenza virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyang Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Md Tanvir Kabir
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Don Young Road, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia
| | - Shuxiong Chen
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Don Young Road, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia
| | - Heran Zhang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Linda M Wakim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Bernd H A Rehm
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Don Young Road, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia
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Sam G, Plain K, Chen S, Islam A, Westman ME, Marsh I, Stenos J, Graves SR, Rehm BHA. Synthetic Particulate Subunit Vaccines for the Prevention of Q Fever. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2302351. [PMID: 38198823 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202302351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Coxiella burnetti is an intracellular bacterium that causes Q fever, a disease of worldwide importance. Q-VAX® , the approved human Q fever vaccine, is a whole cell vaccine associated with safety concerns. Here a safe particulate subunit vaccine candidate is developed that is ambient-temperature stable and can be cost-effectively manufactured. Endotoxin-free Escherichia coli is bioengineered to efficiently self-assemble biopolymer particles (BPs) that are densely coated with either strings of 18 T-cell epitopes (COX-BP) or two full-length immunodominant antigens (YbgF-BP-Com1) all derived from C. burnetii. BP vaccine candidates are ambient-temperature stable. Safety and immunogenicity are confirmed in mice and guinea pig (GP) models. YbgF-BP-Com1 elicits specific and strong humoral immune responses in GPs with IgG titers that are at least 1 000 times higher than those induced by Q-VAX® . BP vaccine candidates are not reactogenic. After challenge with C. burnetii, YbgF-BP-Com1 vaccine leads to reduced fever responses and pathogen burden in the liver and the induction of proinflammatory cytokines IL-12 and IFN-γ inducible protein (IP-10) when compared to negative control groups. These data suggest that YbgF-BP-Com1 induces functional immune responses reducing infection by C. burnetii. Collectively, these findings illustrate the potential of BPs as effective antigen carrier for Q fever vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayathri Sam
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Karren Plain
- Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Menangle, NSW, 2568, Australia
| | - Shuxiong Chen
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Aminul Islam
- Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, University Hospital, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Mark E Westman
- Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Menangle, NSW, 2568, Australia
| | - Ian Marsh
- Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Menangle, NSW, 2568, Australia
| | - John Stenos
- Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, University Hospital, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Stephen R Graves
- Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Menangle, NSW, 2568, Australia
- Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, University Hospital, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Bernd H A Rehm
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia
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Sam G, Stenos J, Graves SR, Rehm BHA. Q fever immunology: the quest for a safe and effective vaccine. NPJ Vaccines 2023; 8:133. [PMID: 37679410 PMCID: PMC10484952 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00727-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Q fever is an infectious zoonotic disease, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Transmission occurs from livestock to humans through inhalation of a survival form of the bacterium, the Small Cell Variant, often via handling of animal parturition products. Q fever manifests as an acute self-limiting febrile illness or as a chronic disease with complications such as vasculitis and endocarditis. The current preventative human Q fever vaccine Q-VAX poses limitations on its worldwide implementation due to reactogenic responses in pre-sensitized individuals. Many strategies have been undertaken to develop a universal Q fever vaccine but with little success to date. The mechanisms of the underlying reactogenic responses remain only partially understood and are important factors in the development of a safe Q fever vaccine. This review provides an overview of previous and current experimental vaccines developed for use against Q fever and proposes approaches to develop a vaccine that establishes immunological memory while eliminating harmful reactogenic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayathri Sam
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - John Stenos
- Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, University Hospital, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Stephen R Graves
- Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, University Hospital, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
- Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Menangle, NSW, 2567, Australia
| | - Bernd H A Rehm
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia.
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia.
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Chen S, Ozberk V, Sam G, Gonzaga ZJC, Calcutt A, Pandey M, Good MF, Rehm BHA. Polymeric epitope-based vaccine induces protective immunity against group A Streptococcus. NPJ Vaccines 2023; 8:102. [PMID: 37452052 PMCID: PMC10349049 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00695-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is a life-threatening human pathogen with no licensed vaccine. Here, we used a biopolymer particle (BP) approach to display repeats of Strep A vaccine candidate peptides p*17 and K4S2 derived from M and non-M protein, respectively. BPs densely displaying both peptides (BP-p*17-S2) were successfully assembled in one-step inside an engineered endotoxin-free Escherichia coli strain. Purified BP-p*17-S2 showed a spherical core-shell morphology with a biopolymer core and peptide shell. Upon formulation with aluminum hydroxide as adjuvant, BP-p*17-S2 exhibited a mean diameter of 2.9 µm and a positive surface charge of 22 mV. No cytotoxicity was detected when tested against HEK-293 cells. Stability studies showed that BP-p*17-S2 is ambient-temperature stable. Immunized mice showed no adverse reactions, while producing high titers of peptide specific antibodies and cytokines. This immune response could be correlated with protective immunity in an animal model of infection, i.e. intranasal challenge of mice with Strep A, where a significant reduction of >100-fold of pathogen burden in nose-associated lymphoid tissue, lung, and spleen was obtained. The cost-effective scalable manufacture of ambient-temperature stable BPs coated with Strep A peptides combined with their immunogenic properties offer an attractive alternative strategy to current Strep A vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxiong Chen
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University (Nathan Campus), Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Victoria Ozberk
- The Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, QLD, 4215, Australia
| | - Gayathri Sam
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University (Nathan Campus), Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Zennia Jean C Gonzaga
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University (Nathan Campus), Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Ainslie Calcutt
- The Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, QLD, 4215, Australia
| | - Manisha Pandey
- The Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, QLD, 4215, Australia
| | - Michael F Good
- The Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, QLD, 4215, Australia
| | - Bernd H A Rehm
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University (Nathan Campus), Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ), Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, QLD, 4215, Australia.
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Chen S, Pounraj S, Sivakumaran N, Kakkanat A, Sam G, Kabir MT, Rehm BHA. Precision-engineering of subunit vaccine particles for prevention of infectious diseases. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1131057. [PMID: 36817419 PMCID: PMC9935699 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1131057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccines remain the best approach for the prevention of infectious diseases. Protein subunit vaccines are safe compared to live-attenuated whole cell vaccines but often show reduced immunogenicity. Subunit vaccines in particulate format show improved vaccine efficacy by inducing strong immune responses leading to protective immunity against the respective pathogens. Antigens with proper conformation and function are often required to induce functional immune responses. Production of such antigens requiring post-translational modifications and/or composed of multiple complex domains in bacterial hosts remains challenging. Here, we discuss strategies to overcome these limitations toward the development of particulate vaccines eliciting desired humoral and cellular immune responses. We also describe innovative concepts of assembling particulate vaccine candidates with complex antigens bearing multiple post-translational modifications. The approaches include non-covalent attachments (e.g. biotin-avidin affinity) and covalent attachments (e.g. SpyCatcher-SpyTag) to attach post-translationally modified antigens to particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxiong Chen
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia,*Correspondence: Bernd H. A. Rehm, ; Shuxiong Chen,
| | - Saranya Pounraj
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Nivethika Sivakumaran
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Anjali Kakkanat
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Gayathri Sam
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Md. Tanvir Kabir
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Bernd H. A. Rehm
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers (CCFB), Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia,Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ), Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia,*Correspondence: Bernd H. A. Rehm, ; Shuxiong Chen,
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Killough M, Rodgers AM, Ingram RJ. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Recent Advances in Vaccine Development. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10071100. [PMID: 35891262 PMCID: PMC9320790 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic human pathogen. Using its arsenal of virulence factors and its intrinsic ability to adapt to new environments, P. aeruginosa causes a range of complicated acute and chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals. Of particular importance are burn wound infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and chronic infections in people with cystic fibrosis. Antibiotic resistance has rendered many of these infections challenging to treat and novel therapeutic strategies are limited. Multiple clinical studies using well-characterised virulence factors as vaccine antigens over the last 50 years have fallen short, resulting in no effective vaccination being available for clinical use. Nonetheless, progress has been made in preclinical research, namely, in the realms of antigen discovery, adjuvant use, and novel delivery systems. Herein, we briefly review the scope of P. aeruginosa clinical infections and its major important virulence factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Killough
- Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK;
| | - Aoife Maria Rodgers
- Department of Biology, The Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health Research, Maynooth University, R51 A021 Maynooth, Ireland;
| | - Rebecca Jo Ingram
- Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK;
- Correspondence:
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