1
|
Peptide Platform as a Powerful Tool in the Fight against COVID-19. Viruses 2021; 13:v13081667. [PMID: 34452531 PMCID: PMC8402770 DOI: 10.3390/v13081667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a global pandemic causing over 195 million infections and more than 4 million fatalities as of July 2021.To date, it has been demonstrated that a number of mutations in the spike glycoprotein (S protein) of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern abrogate or reduce the neutralization potency of several therapeutic antibodies and vaccine-elicited antibodies. Therefore, the development of additional vaccine platforms with improved supply and logistic profile remains a pressing need. In this work, we have validated the applicability of a peptide-based strategy focused on a preventive as well as a therapeutic purpose. On the basis of the involvement of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), in addition to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor in the mechanism of virus entry, we analyzed peptides bearing DPP4 sequences by protein-protein docking and assessed their ability to block pseudovirus infection in vitro. In parallel, we have selected and synthetized peptide sequences located within the highly conserved receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S protein, and we found that RBD-based vaccines could better promote elicitation of high titers of neutralizing antibodies specific against the regions of interest, as confirmed by immunoinformatic methodologies and in vivo studies. These findings unveil a key antigenic site targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies and pave the way to the design of pan-coronavirus vaccines.
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang BZ, Hu YF, Chen LL, Yau T, Tong YG, Hu JC, Cai JP, Chan KH, Dou Y, Deng J, Wang XL, Hung IFN, To KKW, Yuen KY, Huang JD. Mining of epitopes on spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 patients. Cell Res 2020; 30:702-704. [PMID: 32612199 DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.23.056853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractThe ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a serious threat to global public health, and imposes severe burdens on the entire human society. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause severe respiratory illness and death. Currently, there are no specific antiviral drugs that can treat COVID-19. Several vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being actively developed by research groups around the world. The surface S (spike) protein and the highly expressed internal N (nucleocapsid) protein of SARS-CoV-2 are widely considered as promising candidates for vaccines. In order to guide the design of an effective vaccine, we need experimental data on these potential epitope candidates. In this study, we mapped the immunodominant (ID) sites of S protein using sera samples collected from recently discharged COVID-19 patients. The SARS-CoV-2 S protein-specific antibody levels in the sera of recovered COVID-19 patients were strongly correlated with the neutralising antibody titres. We used epitope mapping to determine the landscape of ID sites of S protein, which identified nine linearized B cell ID sites. Four out of the nine ID sites were found in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Further analysis showed that these ID sites are potential high-affinity SARS-CoV-2 antibody binding sites. Peptides containing two out of the nine sites were tested as vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 in a mouse model. We detected epitope-specific antibodies and SARS-CoV-2-neutralising activity in the immunised mice. This study for the first time provides human serological data for the design of vaccines against COVID-19.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Animals
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood
- Antibodies, Viral/blood
- Betacoronavirus/chemistry
- COVID-19
- Coronavirus Infections/blood
- Coronavirus Infections/immunology
- Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control
- Coronavirus Infections/virology
- Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Middle Aged
- Nucleocapsid Proteins/immunology
- Pandemics/prevention & control
- Phosphoproteins
- Pneumonia, Viral/blood
- Pneumonia, Viral/immunology
- Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control
- Pneumonia, Viral/virology
- SARS-CoV-2
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology
- Viral Vaccines/immunology
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bao-Zhong Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ye-Fan Hu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 4/F Professional Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lin-Lei Chen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, 19/F T Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Thomas Yau
- Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 4/F Professional Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yi-Gang Tong
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Soft Matter Science and Engineering (BAIC-SM), College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Jing-Chu Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China
| | - Jian-Piao Cai
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, 19/F T Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kwok-Hung Chan
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, 19/F T Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ying Dou
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jian Deng
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiao-Lei Wang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung
- Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 4/F Professional Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kelvin Kai-Wang To
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, 19/F T Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Kwok Yung Yuen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, 19/F T Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Jian-Dong Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China.
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Antibody Responses Elicited by Immunization with BG505 Trimer Immune Complexes. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.01188-19. [PMID: 31375582 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01188-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune complex (IC) vaccines have been successfully used to increase immune responses against various pathogens, including HIV-1. Additionally, IC vaccines can induce qualitatively different antibody responses, with distinct antigenic specificities compared to the same antigens used alone. Here we measured the HIV-1-specific antibody responses in female New Zealand White rabbits after immunization with ICs made from BG505 SOSIP.664 trimers (BG505 trimers) and three rabbit monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with different neutralization profiles. Two of the MAbs were specific for a hole in the glycan shield of the BG505 trimer, while the third, which bound less avidly, was specific for determinants at the gp41-gp120 interface. We found that immunization with one of the glycan-hole-specific ICs resulted in lower levels of trimer-binding antibodies compared to vaccination with the uncomplexed trimer, and that ICs made using either of the glycan-hole-specific MAbs resulted in lower rates of anti-trimer antibody decay. We concluded that ICs based on MAbs that bound to the immunodominant glycan hole epitope likely diverted antibody responses, to some extent, away from this site and to other regions of the trimer. However, this outcome was not accompanied by a widening of the breadth or an increase in the potency of neutralizing antibody responses compared with uncomplexed trimers.IMPORTANCE Immunodominant epitopes may suppress immune responses to more desirable determinants, such as those that elicit potentially protective neutralizing antibody responses. To overcome this problem, we attempted to mask immunodominant glycan holes by immunizing rabbits with ICs consisting of the BG505 SOSIP.664 gp140 trimer and MAbs that targeted the glycan holes. We found that IC vaccination likely diverted antibody responses, to some extent, away from the glycan holes and toward other regions of the trimer. IC vaccination resulted in slower decay of HIV-1-specific antibodies than did immunization with uncomplexed trimer. We did not observe a widening of the breadth or an increase in the potency of neutralizing antibody responses compared to uncomplexed trimers. Our results suggest that selective epitope dampening of BG505 trimers by ICs is rather ineffective. However, IC vaccination may represent a novel means of increasing the duration of vaccine-induced antibody responses.
Collapse
|
4
|
Woodruff MC, Kim EH, Luo W, Pulendran B. B Cell Competition for Restricted T Cell Help Suppresses Rare-Epitope Responses. Cell Rep 2018; 25:321-327.e3. [PMID: 30304673 PMCID: PMC6235168 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.09.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The immune system responds preferentially to particular antigenic-epitopes contained within complex immunogens, such as proteins or microbes. This poorly understood phenomenon, termed "immunodominance," remains an obstacle to achieving polyvalent immune responses against multiple antigenic-epitopes through vaccination. We observed profound suppression in the hapten-specific antibody response in mice immunized with hapten-protein conjugate, mixed with an excess of protein, relative to that in mice immunized with hapten-protein alone. The suppression was robust (100-fold and 10-fold with a 10- or 2-fold excess of protein, respectively), stable over a 6-log range in antigen dose, observed within 10 days of vaccination, and resistant to boosting and adjuvants. Furthermore, there were reduced frequencies of antigen-specific germinal-center B cells and long-lived bone-marrow plasma cells. The mechanism of this "antigen-competition" was mediated largely by early access to T-helper cells. These results offer mechanistic insights into B cell competition during an immune response and suggest vaccination strategies against HIV, influenza, and dengue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eui Ho Kim
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| | - Wei Luo
- Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Department of Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Bali Pulendran
- Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Department of Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| |
Collapse
|