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Zhang N, Cheng X, Zhu Y, Mo O, Yu H, Zhu L, Zhang J, Kuang L, Gao Y, Cao R, Liang X, Wang H, Li H, Li S, Zhong W, Li X, Li X, Hao P. Multi-valent mRNA vaccines against monkeypox enveloped or mature viron surface antigens demonstrate robust immune response and neutralizing activity. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2023; 66:2329-2341. [PMID: 37300753 PMCID: PMC10257374 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2378-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Monkeypox was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization, and as of March 2023, 86,000 confirmed cases and 111 deaths across 110 countries have been reported. Its causal agent, monkeypox virus (MPV) belongs to a large family of double-stranded DNA viruses, Orthopoxviridae, that also includes vaccinia virus (VACV) and others. MPV produces two distinct forms of viral particles during its replication cycles: the enveloped viron (EV) that is released via exocytosis, and the mature viron (MV) that is discharged through lysis of host cells. This study was designed to develop multi-valent mRNA vaccines against monkeypox EV and MV surface proteins, and examine their efficacy and mechanism of action. Four mRNA vaccines were produced with different combinations of surface proteins from EV (A35R and B6R), MV (A29L, E8L, H3L and M1R), or EV and MV, and were administered in Balb/c mice to assess their immunogenicity potentials. A dynamic immune response was observed as soon as seven days after initial immunization, while a strong IgG response to all immunogens was detected with ELISA after two vaccinations. The higher number of immunogens contributed to a more robust total IgG response and correlating neutralizing activity against VACV, indicating the additive potential of each immunogen in generating immune response and nullifying VACV infection. Further, the mRNA vaccines elicited an antigen-specific CD4+ T cell response that is biased towards Th1. The mRNA vaccines with different combinations of EV and MV surface antigens protected a mouse model from a lethal dose VACV challenge, with the EV and MV antigens-combined vaccine offering the strongest protection. These findings provide insight into the protective mechanism of multi-valent mRNA vaccines against MPV, and also the foundation for further development of effective and safe mRNA vaccines for enhanced protection against monkeypox virus outbreak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niubing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
- East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xiang Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yilong Zhu
- Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130122, China
- Academicians Workstation of Jilin Province, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Ouyang Mo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Huiqing Yu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Liqi Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Linlin Kuang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Ying Gao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Ruiyuan Cao
- National Engineering Research Center for the Emergency Drug, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Xiaozhen Liang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Haikun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Honglin Li
- East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Song Li
- National Engineering Research Center for the Emergency Drug, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Wu Zhong
- National Engineering Research Center for the Emergency Drug, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China.
| | - Xuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Xiao Li
- Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130122, China.
| | - Pei Hao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Chen P, Chen M, Chen Y, Jing X, Zhang N, Zhou X, Li X, Long G, Hao P. Targeted inhibition of Zika virus infection in human cells by CRISPR-Cas13b. Virus Res 2022; 312:198707. [PMID: 35150770 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks occurred in recent years on an unprecedented scale, which caused fever and severe complications like Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults and fetal abnormalities. No vaccines or other effective treatments against ZIKV are available to date. The CRISPR-Cas13 family has the unique ability to target single-strand RNA molecules and mediate RNA cleavage. In the present study, we sought to exploit CRISPR-Cas13b for developing an anti-ZIKV system in mammalian cells. We first generated a ZIKV infection and reporting system by: 1) fusing mCherry to the ZIKV capsid protein for reporting infection by fluorescence; and 2) deriving a 293T cell line (293T-DC-SIGN) stably expressing DC-SIGN (Dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin) that became highly susceptible to ZIKV infection. The CRISPR Cas13b expression was reported to be in the cytoplasm of 293T-DC-SIGN cells using a Cas13b-GFP fusion expression vector. Fourteen CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) were designed to target the most conserved regions of the ZIKV genome through bioinformatics analysis of 1138 ZIKV genome sequences. Five crRNAs were found to have significant effects (p < 0.001; two-sided t test) for Cas13b-targeted inhibition on ZIKV infection in 293T-DC-SIGN cells. Our study demonstrated an exciting example of using the CRISPR-Cas13b system for the treatment and prevention of ZIKV infection, highlighting CRISPR-Cas13 as a promising therapeutic anti-RNA virus strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Chen
- The Joint Program in Infection and Immunity. a. Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, China; Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Minjie Chen
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yujie Chen
- The Joint Program in Infection and Immunity. a. Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, China
| | - Xinyun Jing
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Niubing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Gang Long
- The Joint Program in Infection and Immunity. a. Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, China; Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Pei Hao
- The Joint Program in Infection and Immunity. a. Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, China; Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
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Tang G, Xie B, Hong X, Qin H, Wang J, Huang H, Hao P, Li X. Creating RNA Specific C-to-U Editase from APOBEC3A by Separation of Its Activities on DNA and RNA Substrates. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:1106-1115. [PMID: 33938211 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
APOBEC3A (A3A) is a cytidine deaminase involved in innate immune response and is able to catalyze deamination on both DNA and RNA substrates. It was used in creating the CRISPR-mediated base editor, but has since been held back due to its dual activities. On the other hand, it has been a challenge to separate A3A's dual activities in order to enable it for single-base RNA editors. Here we developed the reporter system for C-to-U RNA editing and employed rational design for mutagenesis to differentiate deaminase activities on RNA and DNA substrates to obtain an RNA-specific editase. Generation and examination of 23 previous A3A mutants showed their deamination activity on RNA was mostly abolished when their activity on DNA was impaired, with the exception of mutant N57Q that displayed an inverse change. We designed new mutations on Loops 1 and 7 based on A3A's crystal structure and found mutants H29R and Y132G had differential effects on catalytic activity on RNA and DNA substrates. In order to engineer an A3A with RNA-specific deaminase activity, we combined Y132G with mutations in Loop 1 or helix 6 by rational design. Two multipoint mutants, Y132G/K30R and Y132G/G188A/R189A/L190A, were successful in retaining high deaminase activity on RNA substrate while eliminating deaminase activity on DNA. We, for the first time, created novel human A3A variants with RNA-specific cytidine deaminase activity, providing insight into A3A's mechanism on substrate recognition and a new addition of a toolset to the creation of a RNA-specific C-to-U base editor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guiyue Tang
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Bingran Xie
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xiangna Hong
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Hang Qin
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jingfang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Hai Huang
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Pei Hao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
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