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Ying B, Liang CY, Desai P, Scheaffer SM, Elbashir SM, Edwards DK, Thackray LB, Diamond MS. Ipsilateral or contralateral boosting of mice with mRNA vaccines confers equivalent immunity and protection against a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain. J Virol 2024:e0057424. [PMID: 39194250 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00574-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Boosting with mRNA vaccines encoding variant-matched spike proteins has been implemented to mitigate their reduced efficacy against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nonetheless, in humans, it remains unclear whether boosting in the ipsilateral or contralateral arm with respect to the priming doses impacts immunity and protection. Here, we boosted K18-hACE2 mice with either monovalent mRNA-1273 (Wuhan-1 spike) or bivalent mRNA-1273.214 (Wuhan-1 + BA.1 spike) vaccine in the ipsilateral or contralateral leg after a two-dose priming series with mRNA-1273. Boosting in the ipsilateral or contralateral leg elicited equivalent levels of serum IgG and neutralizing antibody responses against Wuhan-1 and BA.1. While contralateral boosting with mRNA vaccines resulted in the expansion of spike-specific B and T cells beyond the ipsilateral draining lymph node (DLN) to the contralateral DLN, administration of a third mRNA vaccine dose at either site resulted in similar levels of antigen-specific germinal center B cells, plasmablasts/plasma cells, T follicular helper cells, and CD8+ T cells in the DLNs and the spleen. Furthermore, ipsilateral and contralateral boosting with mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.214 vaccines conferred similar homologous or heterologous immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 virus challenge with equivalent reductions in viral RNA and infectious virus in the nasal turbinates and lungs. Collectively, our data show limited differences in B and T cell immune responses after ipsilateral and contralateral site boosting by mRNA vaccines that do not substantively impact protection against an Omicron strain.IMPORTANCESequential boosting with mRNA vaccines has been an effective strategy to overcome waning immunity and neutralization escape by emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, it remains unclear how the site of boosting relative to the primary vaccination series shapes optimal immune responses or breadth of protection against variants. In K18-hACE2 transgenic mice, we observed that intramuscular boosting with historical monovalent or variant-matched bivalent vaccines in the ipsilateral or contralateral limb elicited comparable levels of serum spike-specific antibody and antigen-specific B and T cell responses. Moreover, boosting on either side conferred equivalent protection against a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron challenge strain. Our data in mice suggest that the site of intramuscular boosting with an mRNA vaccine does not substantially impact immunity or protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoling Ying
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Chieh-Yu Liang
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Pritesh Desai
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Suzanne M Scheaffer
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | | | | | - Larissa B Thackray
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Michael S Diamond
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Center for Vaccines and Immunity to Microbial Pathogens, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Murthy SC, Gordon SM, Lowry AM, Blackstone EH. Evolution of serious and life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic progressed: an observational study of mortality to 60 days after admission to a 15-hospital US health system. BMJ Open 2024; 14:e075028. [PMID: 38977360 PMCID: PMC11256047 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In order to predict at hospital admission the prognosis of patients with serious and life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia, we sought to understand the clinical characteristics of hospitalised patients at admission as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic progressed, document their changing response to the virus and its variants over time, and identify factors most importantly associated with mortality after hospital admission. DESIGN Observational study using a prospective hospital systemwide COVID-19 database. SETTING 15-hospital US health system. PARTICIPANTS 26 872 patients admitted with COVID-19 to our Northeast Ohio and Florida hospitals from 1 March 2020 to 1 June 2022. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES 60-day mortality (highest risk period) after hospital admission analysed by random survival forests machine learning using demographics, medical history, and COVID-19 vaccination status, and viral variant, symptoms, and routine laboratory test results obtained at hospital admission. RESULTS Hospital mortality fell from 11% in March 2020 to 3.7% in March 2022, a 66% decrease (p<0.0001); 60-day mortality fell from 17% in May 2020 to 4.7% in May 2022, a 72% decrease (p<0.0001). Advanced age was the strongest predictor of 60-day mortality, followed by admission laboratory test results. Risk-adjusted 60-day mortality had all patients been admitted in March 2020 was 15% (CI 3.0% to 28%), and had they all been admitted in May 2022, 12% (CI 2.2% to 23%), a 20% decrease (p<0.0001). Dissociation between observed and predicted decrease in mortality was related to temporal change in admission patient profile, particularly in laboratory test results, but not vaccination status or viral variant. CONCLUSIONS Hospital mortality from COVID-19 decreased substantially as the pandemic evolved but persisted after hospital discharge, eclipsing hospital mortality by 50% or more. However, after accounting for the many, even subtle, changes across the pandemic in patients' demographics, medical history and particularly admission laboratory results, a patient admitted early in the pandemic and predicted to be at high risk would remain at high risk of mortality if admitted tomorrow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudish C Murthy
- Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Ashley M Lowry
- Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Liao HC, Shen KY, Yang CH, Chiu FF, Chiang CY, Chai KM, Huang WC, Ho HM, Chen YH, Huang MS, Liao CL, Chen HW, Huang MH, Liu SJ. Lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated DNA vaccine robustly induce superior immune responses to the mRNA vaccine in Syrian hamsters. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2024; 32:101169. [PMID: 38187094 PMCID: PMC10767207 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2023.101169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
DNA vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer have been explored for years. To date, only one DNA vaccine (ZyCoV-D) has been authorized for emergency use in India. DNA vaccines are inexpensive and long-term thermostable, however, limited by the low efficiency of intracellular delivery. The recent success of mRNA/lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has opened a new application for nucleic acid-based vaccines. Here, we report that plasmid encoding a trimeric spike protein with LNP delivery (pTS/LNP), similar to those in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, induced more effective humoral responses than naked pTS or pTS delivered via electroporation. Compared with TSmRNA/LNP, pTS/LNP immunization induced a comparable level of neutralizing antibody titers and significant T helper 1-biased immunity in mice; it also prolonged the maintenance of higher antigen-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody titers in hamsters. Importantly, pTS/LNP immunization exhibits enhanced cross-neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants and protects hamsters from the challenge of SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant). This study indicates that pDNA/LNPs as a promising platform could be a next-generation vaccine technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung-Chun Liao
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Yin Shen
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Hsiang Yang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Fang-Feng Chiu
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Yi Chiang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Kit Man Chai
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Chun Huang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Min Ho
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hua Chen
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Min-Syuan Huang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Len Liao
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Wei Chen
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hsi Huang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Jen Liu
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Steffes VM, Zhang Z, Ewert KK, Safinya CR. Cryo-TEM Reveals the Influence of Multivalent Charge and PEGylation on Shape Transitions in Fluid Lipid Assemblies: From Vesicles to Discs, Rods, and Spheres. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:18424-18436. [PMID: 38051205 PMCID: PMC10799670 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Lipids, and cationic lipids in particular are of interest as delivery vectors for hydrophobic drugs such as the cancer therapeutic paclitaxel, and the structures of lipid assemblies affect their efficacy. We investigated the effect of incorporating the multivalent cationic lipid MVL5 (+5e) and poly(ethylene glycol)-lipids (PEG-lipids), alone and in combination, on the structure of fluid-phase lipid assemblies of the charge-neutral lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine (DOPC). This allowed us to elucidate lipid-assembly structure correlations in sonicated formulations with high charge density, which are not accessible with univalent lipids such as the well-studied DOTAP (+1e). Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) allowed us to determine the structure of the lipid assemblies, revealing diverse combinations of vesicles and disc-shaped, worm-like, and spherical micelles. Remarkably, MVL5 forms an essentially pure phase of disc micelles at 50 mol % MVL5. At a higher (75 mol %) content of MVL5, short- and intermediate-length worm-like micellar rods were observed, and in ternary mixtures with PEG-lipid, longer and highly flexible worm-like micelles formed. Independent of their length, the worm-like micelles coexisted with spherical micelles. In stark contrast, DOTAP forms mixtures of vesicles, disc micelles, and spherical micelles at all studied compositions, even when combined with PEG-lipids. The observed similarities and differences in the effects of charge (multivalent versus univalent) and high curvature (multivalent charge versus PEG-lipid) on the assembly structure provide insights into parameters that control the size of fluid lipid nanodiscs, relevant for future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria M. Steffes
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Zhening Zhang
- The National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy, Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Present Address: Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Department, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Kai K. Ewert
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Cyrus R. Safinya
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
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Steffes V, MacDonald S, Crowe J, Murali M, Ewert KK, Li Y, Safinya CR. Lipids with negative spontaneous curvature decrease the solubility of the cancer drug paclitaxel in liposomes. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:128. [PMID: 38099960 PMCID: PMC10802834 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00388-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Paclitaxel (PTX) is a hydrophobic small-molecule cancer drug that loads into the membrane (tail) region of lipid carriers such as liposomes and micelles. The development of improved lipid-based carriers of PTX is an important objective to generate chemotherapeutics with fewer side effects. The lipids 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) and glyceryl monooleate (GMO) show propensity for fusion with other lipid membranes, which has led to their use in lipid vectors of nucleic acids. We hypothesized that DOPE and GMO could enhance PTX delivery to cells through a similar membrane fusion mechanism. As an important measure of drug carrier performance, we evaluated PTX solubility in cationic liposomes containing GMO or DOPE. Solubility was determined by time-dependent kinetic phase diagrams generated from direct observations of PTX crystal formation using differential-interference-contrast optical microscopy. Remarkably, PTX was much less soluble in these liposomes than in control cationic liposomes containing univalent cationic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC), which are not fusogenic. In particular, PTX was not substantially soluble in GMO-based cationic liposomes. The fusogenicity of DOPE and GMO is related to the negative spontaneous curvature of membranes containing these lipids, which drives formation of nonlamellar self-assembled phases (inverted hexagonal or gyroid cubic). To determine whether PTX solubility is governed by lipid membrane structure or by local intermolecular interactions, we used synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering. To increase the signal/noise ratio, we used DNA to condense the lipid formulations into lipoplex pellets. The results suggest that local intermolecular interactions are of greater importance and that the negative spontaneous curvature-inducing lipids DOPE and GMO are not suitable components of liposomal carriers for PTX delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Steffes
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Scott MacDonald
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - John Crowe
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Meena Murali
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kai K Ewert
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Youli Li
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Cyrus R Safinya
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
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6
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Morozov I, Gaudreault NN, Trujillo JD, Indran SV, Cool K, Kwon T, Meekins DA, Balaraman V, Artiaga BL, Madden DW, McDowell C, Njaa B, Retallick J, Hainer N, Millership J, Wilson WC, Tkalcevic G, Vander Horst H, Burakova Y, King V, Hutchinson K, Hardham JM, Schwahn DJ, Kumar M, Richt JA. Preliminary Study on the Efficacy of a Recombinant, Subunit SARS-CoV-2 Animal Vaccine against Virulent SARS-CoV-2 Challenge in Cats. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1831. [PMID: 38140233 PMCID: PMC10747320 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11121831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The objective of this work was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a recombinant, subunit SARS-CoV-2 animal vaccine in cats against virulent SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Two groups of cats were immunized with two doses of either a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccine or a placebo, administered three weeks apart. Seven weeks after the second vaccination, both groups of cats were challenged with SARS-CoV-2 via the intranasal and oral routes simultaneously. Animals were monitored for 14 days post-infection for clinical signs and viral shedding before being humanely euthanized and evaluated for macroscopic and microscopic lesions. The recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit vaccine induced strong serologic responses post-vaccination and significantly increased neutralizing antibody responses post-challenge. A significant difference in nasal and oral viral shedding, with significantly reduced virus load (detected using RT-qPCR) was observed in vaccinates compared to mock-vaccinated controls. Duration of nasal, oral, and rectal viral shedding was also significantly reduced in vaccinates compared to controls. No differences in histopathological lesion scores were noted between the two groups. Our findings support the safety and efficacy of the recombinant spike protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine which induced high levels of neutralizing antibodies and reduced nasal, oral, and rectal viral shedding, indicating that this vaccine will be efficacious as a COVID-19 vaccine for domestic cats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Morozov
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Natasha N. Gaudreault
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Jessie D. Trujillo
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Sabarish V. Indran
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Konner Cool
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Taeyong Kwon
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - David A. Meekins
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Velmurugan Balaraman
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Bianca Libanori Artiaga
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Daniel W. Madden
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Chester McDowell
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
| | - Bradley Njaa
- Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (B.N.)
| | - Jamie Retallick
- Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (B.N.)
| | | | | | - William C. Wilson
- Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, United States Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Juergen A. Richt
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA (V.B.)
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Steffes V, MacDonald S, Crowe J, Murali M, Ewert KK, Li Y, Safinya CR. Lipids with negative spontaneous curvature decrease the solubility of the cancer drug paclitaxel in liposomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.18.563006. [PMID: 37905081 PMCID: PMC10614943 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.18.563006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Paclitaxel (PTX) is a hydrophobic small-molecule cancer drug that loads into the membrane (tail) region of lipid carriers such as liposomes and micelles. The development of improved lipid-based carriers of PTX is an important objective to generate chemotherapeutics with fewer side effects. The lipids 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) and glyceryl monooleate (GMO) show propensity for fusion with other lipid membranes, which has led to their use in lipid vectors of nucleic acids. We hypothesized that DOPE and GMO could enhance PTX delivery to cells through a similar membrane fusion mechanism. As an important measure of drug carrier performance, we evaluated PTX solubility in cationic liposomes containing GMO or DOPE. Solubility was determined by time-dependent kinetic phase diagrams generated from direct observations of PTX crystal formation using differential-interference-contrast optical microscopy. Remarkably, PTX was much less soluble in these liposomes than in control cationic liposomes containing univalent cationic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC), which are not fusogenic. In particular, PTX was not substantially soluble in GMO-based cationic liposomes. The fusogenicity of DOPE and GMO is related to the negative spontaneous curvature of membranes containing these lipids, which drives formation of nonlamellar self-assembled phases (inverted hexagonal or gyroid cubic). We used synchrotron small-angle x-ray scattering to determine whether PTX solubility is governed by lipid membrane structure (condensed with DNA in pellet form) or by local intermolecular interactions. The results suggest that local intermolecular interactions are of greater importance and that the negative spontaneous curvature-inducing lipids DOPE and GMO are not suitable components of lipid carriers for PTX delivery regardless of carrier structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Steffes
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Scott MacDonald
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - John Crowe
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Meena Murali
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Kai K Ewert
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Youli Li
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Cyrus R Safinya
- Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
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Zeghbib S, Kemenesi G, Jakab F. The importance of equally accessible genomic surveillance in the age of pandemics. Biol Futur 2023:10.1007/s42977-023-00164-5. [PMID: 37199870 DOI: 10.1007/s42977-023-00164-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Genomic epidemiology is now a core component in investigating the spread of a disease during an outbreak and for future preparedness to tackle emerging zoonoses. During the last decades, several viral diseases arose and emphasized the importance of molecular epidemiology in tracking the dispersal route, supporting proper mitigation measures, and appropriate vaccine development. In this perspective article, we summarized what has been done so far in the genomic epidemiology field and what should be considered in the future. We traced back the methods and protocols employed over time for zoonotic disease response. Either to small outbreaks such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak identified first in 2002 in Guangdong, China, or to a global pandemic like the one that we are experiencing now since 2019 when the severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus emerged in Wuhan, China, following several pneumonia cases, and subsequently spread worldwide. We explored both the benefits and shortages encountered when relying on genomic epidemiology, and we clearly present the disadvantages of inequity in accessing these tools around the world, especially in countries with less developed economies. For effectively addressing future pandemics, it is crucial to work for better sequencing equity around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Safia Zeghbib
- National Laboratory of Virology, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary.
| | - Gábor Kemenesi
- National Laboratory of Virology, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary
- Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Ferenc Jakab
- National Laboratory of Virology, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary
- Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Pécs, Pecs, Hungary
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mRNA Vaccines as an Efficient Approach for the Rapid and Robust Induction of Host Immunity Against SARS-CoV-2. SN COMPREHENSIVE CLINICAL MEDICINE 2022; 4:88. [PMID: 35402783 PMCID: PMC8975617 DOI: 10.1007/s42399-022-01168-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Among the currently used COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA-based vaccines drew the interest of the scientists because of its potent and versatile nature in mitigating the disease efficiently through increased translation as well as the robust modulation of the innate and adaptive immune responses within the host. The naked or lipid encapsulated mRNAs are usually optimized in order to formulate the vaccine. One of the interesting advantage of using mRNA vaccines is that such platform can even be used to mitigate other infectious diseases like influenza, zika, and rabies. However, the leading COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, i.e., mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2, have already been noticed to possess around 95% efficacy in provoking both the humoral and cell mediated immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, causing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Development of Bivalent mRNA Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 Variants. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10111807. [PMID: 36366316 PMCID: PMC9693459 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected billions of individuals and is the cause of the current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We previously developed an mRNA vaccine (LVRNA009) based on the S protein of the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain; the phases I and II clinical trials showed that LVRNA009 has a promising safety and immunogenicity profile. In order to counteract the immune escape by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, a panel of mRNA vaccines was developed based on the S proteins of the Wuhan-Hu-1, Delta, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5 strains, and each vaccine’s protective potency against the virus variants was evaluated. Furthermore, to achieve excellent neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants, bivalent vaccines were developed and tested against the variants. We found that the monovalent Wuhan-Hu-1 or the Delta vaccines could induce high level of neutralization antibody and protect animals from the infection of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 or Delta strains, respectively. However, serum samples from mice immunized with monovalent Delta vaccine showed relatively low virus neutralization titers (VNTs) against the pseudotyped virus of the Omicron strains. Serum samples from mice immunized with bivalent Delta/BA.1 vaccine had high VNTs against the pseudotyped Wuhan-Hu-1, Delta, and BA.1 strains but low VNTs against BA.2 and BA.5 (p < 0.05). Serum samples from mice immunized with Delta/BA.2 vaccine had high VNTs against the pseudotyped Wuhan-Hu-1, Delta, BA.1 and BA.2 strains but low VNTs against BA.5. Finally, serum samples from mice immunized with Delta/BA.5 vaccine had high VNTs against all the tested pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 strains including the Wuhan-Hu-1, Delta, and Omicron variants (p > 0.05). Therefore, a bivalent mRNA vaccine with Delta/BA.5 combination is promising to provide broad spectrum immunity against all VOCs.
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11
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Cieslewicz B, Makrinos D, Burke H, Bree D, Haridas R, Tonkiss I, Bartsch Y, Alter G, Malley R, Besin G. Preclinical Immunogenicity and Efficacy of a Multiple Antigen-Presenting System (MAPS TM) SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:1069. [PMID: 35891233 PMCID: PMC9317729 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the remarkable success of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the rise of variants, some of which are more resistant to the effects of vaccination, highlights the potential need for additional COVID-19 vaccines. We used the Multiple Antigen-Presenting System (MAPS) technology, in which proteins are presented on a polysaccharide polymer to induce antibody, Th1, Th17 and CD8+ T cell responses, to engineer a novel vaccine targeting SARS-CoV-2. This vaccine contains a fragment of the spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) sequence of the original D614G strain and was used to immunize nonhuman primates (NHP) for assessment of immunological responses and protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge. The SARS-CoV-2 MAPS vaccine generated robust neutralizing antibodies as well as Th1, Th17 and cytotoxic CD8 T-cell responses in NHPs. Furthermore, MAPS-immunized NHPs had significantly lower viral loads in the nasopharynx and lung compared to control animals. Taken together, these findings support the use of the MAPS platform to make a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The nature of the platform also could enable its use for the inclusion of different variants in a single vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Cieslewicz
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Daniel Makrinos
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Heidi Burke
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Dara Bree
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Renuka Haridas
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Ian Tonkiss
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
| | - Yannic Bartsch
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; (Y.B.); (G.A.)
| | - Galit Alter
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; (Y.B.); (G.A.)
| | - Richard Malley
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gilles Besin
- Affinivax, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (B.C.); (D.M.); (H.B.); (D.B.); (R.H.); (I.T.); or
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12
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Routhu NK, Gangadhara S, Lai L, Davis Gardner ME, Floyd K, Shiferaw A, Bartsch YC, Fischinger S, Khoury G, Rahman SA, Stampfer SD, Schaefer A, Jean SM, Wallace C, Stammen RL, Wood J, Cohen J, Nagy T, Parsons MS, Gralinski L, Kozlowski PA, Alter G, Suthar MS, Amara RR. A modified vaccinia Ankara vaccine expressing spike and nucleocapsid protects rhesus macaques against SARS-CoV-2 Delta infection. Sci Immunol 2022; 7:eabo0226. [PMID: 35357886 PMCID: PMC8995033 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abo0226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 vaccines should induce broadly cross-reactive humoral and T cell responses to protect against emerging variants of concern (VOCs). Here, we inactivated the furin cleavage site (FCS) of spike expressed by a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus vaccine (MVA/SdFCS) and found that FCS inactivation markedly increased spike binding to human ACE2. After vaccination of mice, the MVA/SdFCS vaccine induced eightfold higher neutralizing antibodies compared with MVA/S, which expressed spike without FCS inactivation, and protected against the Beta variant. We next added nucleocapsid to the MVA/SdFCS vaccine (MVA/SdFCS-N) and tested its immunogenicity and efficacy via intramuscular (IM), buccal (BU), or sublingual (SL) routes in rhesus macaques. IM vaccination induced spike-specific IgG in serum and mucosae (nose, throat, lung, and rectum) that neutralized the homologous (WA-1/2020) and heterologous VOCs, including Delta, with minimal loss (<2-fold) of activity. IM vaccination also induced both spike- and nucleocapsid-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses in the blood. In contrast, the SL and BU vaccinations induced less spike-specific IgG in secretions and lower levels of polyfunctional IgG in serum compared with IM vaccination. After challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, the IM route induced robust protection, the BU route induced moderate protection, and the SL route induced no protection. Vaccine-induced neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibody effector functions positively correlated with protection, but only the effector functions correlated with early protection. Thus, IM vaccination with MVA/SdFCS-N vaccine elicited cross-reactive antibody and T cell responses, protecting against heterologous SARS-CoV-2 VOC more effectively than other routes of vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanda Kishore Routhu
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Sailaja Gangadhara
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Lilin Lai
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Meredith Elizabeth Davis Gardner
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Katharine Floyd
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Ayalnesh Shiferaw
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Yannic C Bartsch
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | | | - Georges Khoury
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Sheikh Abdul Rahman
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Samuel David Stampfer
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
| | - Alexandra Schaefer
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Sherrie M. Jean
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Chelsea Wallace
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Rachelle L. Stammen
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Jennifer Wood
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Joyce Cohen
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Tamas Nagy
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Matthew S. Parsons
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lisa Gralinski
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516, USA
| | - Pamela A. Kozlowski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA
| | - Galit Alter
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Mehul S. Suthar
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Rama Rao Amara
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
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13
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Oberemok VV, Andreeva OA, Laikova KV, Novikov IA, Puzanova YV, Kubyshkin AV. Anti-coronavirus vaccines will not accelerate the transition of humanity to a non-pandemic period, but the pandemic will take fewer victims. Inflamm Res 2022; 71:521-536. [PMID: 35397666 PMCID: PMC8994861 DOI: 10.1007/s00011-022-01567-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The vaccination rate worldwide has reached enormous proportions, and it is likely that at least 75% of the world's population will be vaccinated. The controversy is that, while people aged 65 and older suffer a significantly higher mortality rate from COVID-19, plans are being made to vaccinate young people under the age of 20. Equally thorny is the question of vaccinating people who already have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, as well as B and T memory cells, because they contracted and survived the virus. The possible consequences of large-scale vaccination are difficult to predict, when some people do not have access to the vaccine at all and others have already received 3 doses of the vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 will circulate through the human population forever and continue to mutate, as viruses do. Therefore, in the coming years, the need to develop and use effective vaccines and medicines for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 will remain urgent in view of the high mortality rate from this disease. To date, three vaccine platforms have been most used: adenoviral vector, inactivated, and mRNA. There is some concern about the side effects that occur after vaccination. Whether modern anti-coronavirus vaccines can raise the safety threshold, only time will answer. It is obvious that the pandemic will end, but the virus will remain in the human population, leaving behind invaluable experience and tens of millions of victims. This article is based on search retrieves in research articles devoted to COVID-19 mainly published in 2020-2021 and examines the possible consequences of the worldwide vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and suggests that, while anti-coronavirus vaccines will not magically transport humanity to a non-pandemic world, they may greatly reduce the number of victims of the pandemic and help us learn how to live with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- V V Oberemok
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnologies, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea.
- Department of DNA Technologies of Engineering Center, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea.
| | - O A Andreeva
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnologies, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
- Department of DNA Technologies of Engineering Center, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
| | - K V Laikova
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnologies, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
- Department of DNA Technologies of Engineering Center, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
| | - I A Novikov
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnologies, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
| | - Y V Puzanova
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnologies, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
- Department of DNA Technologies of Engineering Center, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
| | - A V Kubyshkin
- Department of DNA Technologies of Engineering Center, V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Crimea
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14
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Nouën CL, Nelson CE, Liu X, Park HS, Matsuoka Y, Luongo C, Santos C, Yang L, Herbert R, Castens A, Moore IN, Wilder-Kofie T, Moore R, Walker A, Zhang P, Lusso P, Johnson RF, Garza NL, Via LE, Munir S, Barber D, Buchholz UJ. Intranasal pediatric parainfluenza virus-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate is protective in macaques. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2022:2022.05.21.492923. [PMID: 35665011 PMCID: PMC9164439 DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.21.492923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed that elicit immunity directly in the airways, as well as systemically. Building on pediatric parainfluenza virus vaccines in clinical development, we generated a live-attenuated parainfluenza virus-vectored vaccine candidate expressing SARS-CoV-2 prefusion-stabilized spike (S) protein (B/HPIV3/S-6P) and evaluated its immunogenicity and protective efficacy in rhesus macaques. A single intranasal/intratracheal dose of B/HPIV3/S-6P induced strong S-specific airway mucosal IgA and IgG responses. High levels of S-specific antibodies were also induced in serum, which efficiently neutralized SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Furthermore, B/HPIV3/S-6P induced robust systemic and pulmonary S-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, including tissue-resident memory cells in lungs. Following challenge, SARS-CoV-2 replication was undetectable in airways and lung tissues of immunized macaques. B/HPIV3/S-6P will be evaluated clinically as pediatric intranasal SARS-CoV-2/parainfluenza virus type 3 vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril Le Nouën
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Christine E. Nelson
- T Lymphocyte Biology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Xueqiao Liu
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Hong-Su Park
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yumiko Matsuoka
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Cindy Luongo
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Celia Santos
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Lijuan Yang
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Richard Herbert
- Experimental Primate Virology Section, Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Poolesville, MD 20837, USA
| | - Ashley Castens
- Experimental Primate Virology Section, Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Poolesville, MD 20837, USA
| | - Ian N. Moore
- Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Current address: Division of Pathology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University; Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Temeri Wilder-Kofie
- Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Current Address: Division of Assurances, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health, MD 20892, USA
| | - Rashida Moore
- Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Current address: Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Environmental Health and Safety Office, Emory University; Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - April Walker
- Tuberculosis Imaging Program, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Peng Zhang
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Paolo Lusso
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Reed F. Johnson
- SARS-CoV-2 Virology Core, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nicole L. Garza
- SARS-CoV-2 Virology Core, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Laura E. Via
- Tuberculosis Imaging Program, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shirin Munir
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Daniel Barber
- T Lymphocyte Biology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Ursula J. Buchholz
- RNA Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
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15
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Fang E, Liu X, Li M, Zhang Z, Song L, Zhu B, Wu X, Liu J, Zhao D, Li Y. Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2022; 7:94. [PMID: 35322018 PMCID: PMC8940982 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-00950-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 93.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has determined 399,600,607 cases and 5,757,562 deaths worldwide. COVID-19 is a serious threat to human health globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 pandemic a major public health emergency. Vaccination is the most effective and economical intervention for controlling the spread of epidemics, and consequently saving lives and protecting the health of the population. Various techniques have been employed in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Among these, the COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine has been drawing increasing attention owing to its great application prospects and advantages, which include short development cycle, easy industrialization, simple production process, flexibility to respond to new variants, and the capacity to induce better immune response. This review summarizes current knowledge on the structural characteristics, antigen design strategies, delivery systems, industrialization potential, quality control, latest clinical trials and real-world data of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as well as mRNA technology. Current challenges and future directions in the development of preventive mRNA vaccines for major infectious diseases are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enyue Fang
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
- Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, Co., Ltd., Wuhan, 430207, China
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Miao Li
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Zelun Zhang
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Lifang Song
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Baiyu Zhu
- Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Xiaohong Wu
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Jingjing Liu
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Danhua Zhao
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China
| | - Yuhua Li
- National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, China.
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16
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Akbarzadehlaleh P, Farjami A, Montazersaheb S, Soofiyani S, Salatin S. Biopharmaceuticals for prevention of COVID-19: A scoping review. ASIAN PAC J TROP MED 2022. [DOI: 10.4103/1995-7645.348158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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17
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Simnani FZ, Singh D, Kaur R. COVID-19 phase 4 vaccine candidates, effectiveness on SARS-CoV-2 variants, neutralizing antibody, rare side effects, traditional and nano-based vaccine platforms: a review. 3 Biotech 2022; 12:15. [PMID: 34926119 PMCID: PMC8665991 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-021-03076-0] [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: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has endangered world health and the economy. As the number of cases is increasing, different companies have started developing potential vaccines using both traditional and nano-based platforms to overcome the pandemic. Several countries have approved a few vaccine candidates for emergency use authorization (EUA), showing significant effectiveness and inducing a robust immune response. Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162, Moderna's mRNA-1273, Sinovac's CoronaVac, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik-V, and Sinopharm's vaccine candidates are leading the race. However, the SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating, making the vaccines less effective, possibly by escaping immune response for some variants. Besides, some EUA vaccines have been reported to induce rare side effects such as blood clots, cardiac injury, anaphylaxis, and some neurological effects. Although the COVID-19 vaccine candidates promise to overcome the pandemic, a more significant and clear understanding is needed. In this review, we brief about the clinical trial of some leading candidates, their effectiveness, and their neutralizing effect on SARS-CoV-2 variants. Further, we have discussed the rare side effects, different traditional and nano-based platforms to understand the scope of future development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dibyangshee Singh
- KIIT School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, 751024 India
| | - Ramneet Kaur
- Department of Life Sciences, RIMT University, Ludhiana, Punjab India
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18
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Ishaqat A, Herrmann A. Polymers Strive for Accuracy: From Sequence-Defined Polymers to mRNA Vaccines against COVID-19 and Polymers in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:20529-20545. [PMID: 34841867 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c08484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Unquestionably, polymers have influenced the world over the past 100 years. They are now more crucial than ever since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The pandemic paved the way for certain polymers to be in the spotlight, namely sequence-defined polymers such as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which was the first type of vaccine to be authorized in the U.S. and Europe to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This rise of mRNA will probably influence scientific research concerning nucleic acids in general and RNA therapeutics in specific. In this Perspective, we highlight the recent trends in sequence-controlled and sequence-defined polymers. Then we discuss mRNA vaccines as an example to illustrate the need of ultimate sequence control to achieve complex functions such as specific activation of the immune system. We briefly present how mRNA vaccines are produced, the importance of modified nucleotides, the characteristic features, and the advantages and challenges associated with this class of vaccines. Finally, we discuss the chances and opportunities for polymer chemistry to provide solutions and contribute to the future progress of RNA-based therapeutics. We highlight two particular roles of polymers in this context. One represents conjugation of polymers to nucleic acids to form biohybrids. The other is concerned with advanced polymer-based carrier systems for nucleic acids. We believe that polymers can help to address present problems of RNA-based therapeutic technologies and impact the field beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman Ishaqat
- DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Andreas Herrmann
- DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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19
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Lara-Puente JH, Carreño JM, Sun W, Suárez-Martínez A, Ramírez-Martínez L, Quezada-Monroy F, Paz-De la Rosa G, Vigueras-Moreno R, Singh G, Rojas-Martínez O, Chagoya-Cortés HE, Sarfati-Mizrahi D, Soto-Priante E, López-Macías C, Krammer F, Castro-Peralta F, Palese P, García-Sastre A, Lozano-Dubernard B. Safety and Immunogenicity of a Newcastle Disease Virus Vector-Based SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate, AVX/COVID-12-HEXAPRO (Patria), in Pigs. mBio 2021; 12:e0190821. [PMID: 34544278 PMCID: PMC8546847 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01908-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were developed in record time and show excellent efficacy and effectiveness against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, currently approved vaccines cannot meet the global demand. In addition, none of the currently used vaccines is administered intranasally to potentially induce mucosal immunity. Here, we tested the safety and immunogenicity of a second-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that includes a stabilized spike antigen and can be administered intranasally. The vaccine is based on a live Newcastle disease virus vector expressing a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein stabilized in a prefusion conformation with six beneficial proline substitutions (AVX/COVID-12-HEXAPRO; Patria). Immunogenicity testing in the pig model showed that both intranasal and intramuscular application of the vaccine as well as a combination of the two induced strong serum neutralizing antibody responses. Furthermore, substantial reactivity to B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 spike variants was detected. Finally, no adverse reactions were found in the experimental animals at any dose level or delivery route. These results indicate that the experimental vaccine AVX/COVID-12-HEXAPRO (Patria) is safe and highly immunogenic in the pig model. IMPORTANCE Several highly efficacious vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 have been developed and are used in the population. However, the current production capacity cannot meet the global demand. Therefore, additional vaccines-especially ones that can be produced locally and at low cost-are urgently needed. This work describes preclinical testing of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate which meets these criteria.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Juan Manuel Carreño
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Weina Sun
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gagandeep Singh
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Constantino López-Macías
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Inmunoquímica, UMAE Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico
| | - Florian Krammer
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Peter Palese
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Adolfo García-Sastre
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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20
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Gao M, Zhang Q, Feng XH, Liu J. Synthetic modified messenger RNA for therapeutic applications. Acta Biomater 2021; 131:1-15. [PMID: 34133982 PMCID: PMC8198544 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic modified messenger RNA (mRNA) has manifested great potentials for therapeutic applications such as vaccines and gene therapies, with the recent mRNA vaccines for global pandemic COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019) attracting the tremendous attention. The chemical modifications and delivery vehicles of synthetic mRNAs are the two key factors for their in vivo therapeutic applications. Chemical modifications like nucleoside methylation endow the synthetic mRNAs with high stability and reduced stimulation of innate immunity. The development of scalable production of synthetic mRNA and efficient mRNA formulation and delivery strategies in recent years have remarkably advanced the field. It is worth noticing that we had limited knowledge on the roles of mRNA modifications in the past. However, the last decade has witnessed not only new discoveries of several naturally occurring mRNA modifications but also substantial advances in understanding their roles on regulating gene expression. It is highly necessary to reconsider the therapeutic system made by synthetic modified mRNAs and delivery vectors. In this review, we will mainly discuss the roles of various chemical modifications on synthetic mRNAs, briefly summarize the progresses of mRNA delivery strategies, and highlight some latest mRNA therapeutics applications including infectious disease vaccines, cancer immunotherapy, mRNA-based genetic reprogramming and protein replacement, mRNA-based gene editing. Statement of significance The development of synthetic mRNA drug holds great promise but lies behind small molecule and protein drugs largely due to the challenging issues regarding its stability, immunogenicity and potency. In the last 15 years, these issues have beensubstantially addressed by synthesizing chemically modified mRNA and developing powerful delivery systems; the mRNA therapeutics has entered an exciting new era begun with the approved mRNA vaccines for the COVID-19 infection disease. Here, we provide recent progresses in understanding the biological roles of various RNA chemical modifications, in developing mRNA delivery systems, and in advancing the emerging mRNA-based therapeutic applications, with the purpose to inspire the community to spawn new ideas for curing diseases.
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21
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Ewert KK, Scodeller P, Simón-Gracia L, Steffes VM, Wonder EA, Teesalu T, Safinya CR. Cationic Liposomes as Vectors for Nucleic Acid and Hydrophobic Drug Therapeutics. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:1365. [PMID: 34575441 PMCID: PMC8465808 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13091365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cationic liposomes (CLs) are effective carriers of a variety of therapeutics. Their applications as vectors of nucleic acids (NAs), from long DNA and mRNA to short interfering RNA (siRNA), have been pursued for decades to realize the promise of gene therapy, with approvals of the siRNA therapeutic patisiran and two mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 as recent milestones. The long-term goal of developing optimized CL-based NA carriers for a broad range of medical applications requires a comprehensive understanding of the structure of these vectors and their interactions with cell membranes and components that lead to the release and activity of the NAs within the cell. Structure-activity relationships of lipids for CL-based NA and drug delivery must take into account that these lipids act not individually but as components of an assembly of many molecules. This review summarizes our current understanding of how the choice of the constituting lipids governs the structure of their CL-NA self-assemblies, which constitute distinct liquid crystalline phases, and the relation of these structures to their efficacy for delivery. In addition, we review progress toward CL-NA nanoparticles for targeted NA delivery in vivo and close with an outlook on CL-based carriers of hydrophobic drugs, which may eventually lead to combination therapies with NAs and drugs for cancer and other diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai K. Ewert
- Materials, Physics, and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Departments, and Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; (V.M.S.); (E.A.W.)
| | - Pablo Scodeller
- Laboratory of Precision- and Nanomedicine, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; (P.S.); (L.S.-G.)
| | - Lorena Simón-Gracia
- Laboratory of Precision- and Nanomedicine, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; (P.S.); (L.S.-G.)
| | - Victoria M. Steffes
- Materials, Physics, and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Departments, and Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; (V.M.S.); (E.A.W.)
| | - Emily A. Wonder
- Materials, Physics, and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Departments, and Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; (V.M.S.); (E.A.W.)
| | - Tambet Teesalu
- Laboratory of Precision- and Nanomedicine, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 14b, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; (P.S.); (L.S.-G.)
- Center for Nanomedicine and Department of Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Cyrus R. Safinya
- Materials, Physics, and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Departments, and Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; (V.M.S.); (E.A.W.)
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22
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Yu J, Azzam EI, Jadhav AB, Wang Y. COVID-19: The Disease, the Immunological Challenges, the Treatment with Pharmaceuticals and Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation. Cells 2021; 10:2212. [PMID: 34571861 PMCID: PMC8470324 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The year 2020 will be carved in the history books-with the proliferation of COVID-19 over the globe and with frontline health workers and basic scientists worldwide diligently fighting to alleviate life-threatening symptoms and curb the spread of the disease. Behind the shocking prevalence of death are countless families who lost loved ones. To these families and to humanity as a whole, the tallies are not irrelevant digits, but a motivation to develop effective strategies to save lives. However, at the onset of the pandemic, not many therapeutic choices were available besides supportive oxygen, anti-inflammatory dexamethasone, and antiviral remdesivir. Low-dose radiation (LDR), at a much lower dosage than applied in cancer treatment, re-emerged after a 75-year silence in its use in unresolved pneumonia, as a scientific interest with surprising effects in soothing the cytokine storm and other symptoms in severe COVID-19 patients. Here, we review the epidemiology, symptoms, immunological alterations, mutations, pharmaceuticals, and vaccine development of COVID-19, summarizing the history of X-ray irradiation in non-COVID diseases (especially pneumonia) and the currently registered clinical trials that apply LDR in treating COVID-19 patients. We discuss concerns, advantages, and disadvantages of LDR treatment and potential avenues that may provide empirical evidence supporting its potential use in defending against the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihang Yu
- Radiobiology and Health, Isotopes, Radiobiology & Environment Directorate (IRED), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada; (J.Y.); (E.I.A.); (A.B.J.)
| | - Edouard I. Azzam
- Radiobiology and Health, Isotopes, Radiobiology & Environment Directorate (IRED), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada; (J.Y.); (E.I.A.); (A.B.J.)
| | - Ashok B. Jadhav
- Radiobiology and Health, Isotopes, Radiobiology & Environment Directorate (IRED), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada; (J.Y.); (E.I.A.); (A.B.J.)
| | - Yi Wang
- Radiobiology and Health, Isotopes, Radiobiology & Environment Directorate (IRED), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Chalk River, ON K0J 1J0, Canada; (J.Y.); (E.I.A.); (A.B.J.)
- Department of Biochemistry Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
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23
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Evolutionary Tracking of SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Variants Highlights an Intricate Balance of Stabilizing and Destabilizing Mutations. mBio 2021; 12:e0118821. [PMID: 34281387 PMCID: PMC8406184 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01188-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The currently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has accounted for millions of infections and deaths across the globe. Genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 are being published daily in public databases and the availability of these genome data sets has allowed unprecedented access to the mutational patterns of SARS-CoV-2 evolution. We made use of the same genomic information for conducting phylogenetic analysis and identifying lineage-specific mutations. The catalogued lineage-defining mutations were analyzed for their stabilizing or destabilizing impact on viral proteins. We recorded persistence of D614G, S477N, A222V, and V1176F variants and a global expansion of the PANGOLIN variant B.1. In addition, a retention of Q57H (B.1.X), R203K/G204R (B.1.1.X), T85I (B.1.2-B.1.3), G15S+T428I (C.X), and I120F (D.X) variations was observed. Overall, we recorded a striking balance between stabilizing and destabilizing mutations, therefore leading to well-maintained protein structures. With selection pressures in the form of newly developed vaccines and therapeutics to mount in the coming months, the task of mapping viral mutations and recording their impact on key viral proteins should be crucial to preemptively catch any escape mechanism for which SARS-CoV-2 may evolve.
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24
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Reyes MSGL, Dee EC, Ho BL. Vaccination in the Philippines: experiences from history and lessons for the future. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021; 17:1873-1876. [PMID: 33357156 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1841541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In anticipation of a potential vaccine for COVID-19, vaccine uptake may be critical in overcoming the pandemic, especially in countries like the Philippines, which has among the highest rates of infection in the region. Looking at the progress of vaccination in the country - its promises, pitfalls, and challenges - may provide insight for public health professionals and the public. The history of vaccination in the Philippines is marked by strong achievements, such as the establishment and growth of a national programme for immunization, and importantly, the eradication of poliomyelitis and maternal and neonatal tetanus. It is also marred by critical challenges which provide a springboard for improvement across all sectors - vaccine stock-outs,strong opposition from certain advocacy groups, and the widely publicized Dengvaxia controversy. Moving forward, with recent surveys having shown that vaccine confidence has begun to improve, these experiences may inform the approaches taken to address vaccine uptake. These lessons from the past highlight the importance of a strong partnership between health leaders and the local community, bearing in mind cultural appropriateness and humility; the engagement of multidisciplinary stakeholders; and the importance of foresight in preparing public health infrastructure for the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Beverly Lorraine Ho
- Department of Health, Health Promotion and Communication Service, Philippines
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25
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Verma V, Ryan KM, Padrela L. Production and isolation of pharmaceutical drug nanoparticles. Int J Pharm 2021; 603:120708. [PMID: 33992712 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Nanosizing of pharmaceutical drug particles is one of the most important drug delivery platforms approaches for the commercial development of poorly water-soluble drug molecules. Though nanosizing of drug particles has been proven to greatly enhance drugs dissolution rate and apparent solubility, nanosized materials have presented significant challenges for their formulation as solid dosage forms (e.g. tablets, capsules). This is due to the strong Van der Waals attraction forces between dry nanoparticles leading to aggregation, cohesion, and consequently poor flowability. In this review, the broad area of nanomedicines is overviewed with the primary focus on drug nanocrystals and the top-down and bottom-up methods used in their fabrication. The review also looks at how nanosuspensions of pharmaceutical drugs are generated and stabilised, followed by subsequent strategies for isolation of the nanoparticles. A perspective on the future outlook for drug nanocrystals is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Verma
- SSPC Research Centre, Department of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Kevin M Ryan
- SSPC Research Centre, Department of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Luis Padrela
- SSPC Research Centre, Department of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
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26
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Harrington WN, Kackos CM, Webby RJ. The evolution and future of influenza pandemic preparedness. Exp Mol Med 2021; 53:737-749. [PMID: 33953324 PMCID: PMC8099712 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-021-00603-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The influenza virus is a global threat to human health causing unpredictable yet recurring pandemics, the last four emerging over the course of a hundred years. As our knowledge of influenza virus evolution, distribution, and transmission has increased, paths to pandemic preparedness have become apparent. In the 1950s, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a global influenza surveillance network that is now composed of institutions in 122 member states. This and other surveillance networks monitor circulating influenza strains in humans and animal reservoirs and are primed to detect influenza strains with pandemic potential. Both the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO have also developed pandemic risk assessment tools that evaluate specific aspects of emerging influenza strains to develop a systematic process of determining research and funding priorities according to the risk of emergence and potential impact. Here, we review the history of influenza pandemic preparedness and the current state of preparedness, and we propose additional measures for improvement. We also comment on the intersection between the influenza pandemic preparedness network and the current SARS-CoV-2 crisis. We must continually evaluate and revise our risk assessment and pandemic preparedness plans and incorporate new information gathered from research and global crises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter N Harrington
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Christina M Kackos
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Richard J Webby
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
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27
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Kalnin KV, Plitnik T, Kishko M, Zhang J, Zhang D, Beauvais A, Anosova NG, Tibbitts T, DiNapoli J, Ulinski G, Piepenhagen P, Cummings SM, Bangari DS, Ryan S, Huang PWD, Huleatt J, Vincent D, Fries K, Karve S, Goldman R, Gopani H, Dias A, Tran K, Zacharia M, Gu X, Boeglin L, Abysalh J, Vargas J, Beaulieu A, Shah M, Jeannotte T, Gillis K, Chivukula S, Swearingen R, Landolfi V, Fu TM, DeRosa F, Casimiro D. Immunogenicity and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine MRT5500 in preclinical animal models. NPJ Vaccines 2021; 6:61. [PMID: 33875658 DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.14.337535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Emergency use authorization of COVID vaccines has brought hope to mitigate pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there remains a need for additional effective vaccines to meet the global demand and address the potential new viral variants. mRNA technologies offer an expeditious path alternative to traditional vaccine approaches. Here we describe the efforts to utilize an mRNA platform for rational design and evaluations of mRNA vaccine candidates based on the spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Several mRNA constructs of S-protein, including wild type, a pre-fusion stabilized mutant (2P), a furin cleavage-site mutant (GSAS) and a double mutant form (2P/GSAS), as well as others, were tested in animal models for their capacity to elicit neutralizing antibodies (nAbs). The lead 2P/GSAS candidate was further assessed in dose-ranging studies in mice and Cynomolgus macaques, and for efficacy in a Syrian golden hamster model. The selected 2P/GSAS vaccine formulation, designated MRT5500, elicited potent nAbs as measured in neutralization assays in all three preclinical models and more importantly, protected against SARS-CoV-2-induced weight loss and lung pathology in hamsters. In addition, MRT5500 elicited TH1-biased responses in both mouse and non-human primate (NHP), thus alleviating a hypothetical concern of potential vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory diseases known associated with TH2-biased responses. These data position MRT5500 as a viable vaccine candidate for entering clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Susan Ryan
- Global Discovery Pathology, Sanofi, Framingham, MA, USA
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28
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He Q, Mao Q, Zhang J, Bian L, Gao F, Wang J, Xu M, Liang Z. COVID-19 Vaccines: Current Understanding on Immunogenicity, Safety, and Further Considerations. Front Immunol 2021; 12:669339. [PMID: 33912196 PMCID: PMC8071852 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.669339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The world has entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its intensity is significantly higher than that of the first wave of early 2020. Many countries or regions have been forced to start the second round of lockdowns. To respond rapidly to this global pandemic, dozens of COVID-19 vaccine candidates have been developed and many are undergoing clinical testing. Evaluating and defining effective vaccine candidates for human use is crucial for prioritizing vaccination programs against COVID-19. In this review, we have summarized and analyzed the efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical reports on different COVID-19 vaccines. We discuss the various guidelines laid out for the development of vaccines and the importance of biological standards for comparing the performance of vaccines. Lastly, we highlight the key remaining challenges, possible strategies for addressing them and the expected improvements in the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian He
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Qunying Mao
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Jialu Zhang
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Lianlian Bian
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Fan Gao
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Junzhi Wang
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Miao Xu
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenglun Liang
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, China
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29
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Borah P, Deb PK, Al-Shar’i NA, Dahabiyeh LA, Venugopala KN, Singh V, Shinu P, Hussain S, Deka S, Chandrasekaran B, Jaradat DMM. Perspectives on RNA Vaccine Candidates for COVID-19. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:635245. [PMID: 33869282 PMCID: PMC8044912 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.635245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
With the current outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2, vaccination is acclaimed as a public health care priority. Rapid genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered the scientific community to search for effective vaccines. Collaborative approaches from research institutes and biotech companies have acknowledged the use of viral proteins as potential vaccine candidates against COVID-19. Nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) vaccines are considered the next generation vaccines as they can be rapidly designed to encode any desirable viral sequence including the highly conserved antigen sequences. RNA vaccines being less prone to host genome integration (cons of DNA vaccines) and anti-vector immunity (a compromising factor of viral vectors) offer great potential as front-runners for universal COVID-19 vaccine. The proof of concept for RNA-based vaccines has already been proven in humans, and the prospects for commercialization are very encouraging as well. With the emergence of COVID-19, mRNA-1273, an mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna, Inc. was the first to enter human trials, with the first volunteer receiving the dose within 10 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequencing. The recent interest in mRNA vaccines has been fueled by the state of the art technologies that enhance mRNA stability and improve vaccine delivery. Interestingly, as per the "Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines" published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 29, 2020, seven potential RNA based COVID-19 vaccines are in different stages of clinical trials; of them, two candidates already received emergency use authorization, and another 22 potential candidates are undergoing pre-clinical investigations. This review will shed light on the rationality of RNA as a platform for vaccine development against COVID-19, highlighting the possible pros and cons, lessons learned from the past, and the future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pobitra Borah
- School of Pharmacy, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India
- Pratiksha Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam, India
| | - Pran Kishore Deb
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Philadelphia University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Nizar A. Al-Shar’i
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
| | - Lina A. Dahabiyeh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Katharigatta N. Venugopala
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
| | - Vinayak Singh
- Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Pottathil Shinu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Snawar Hussain
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Satyendra Deka
- Pratiksha Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam, India
| | - Balakumar Chandrasekaran
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Philadelphia University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Da’san M. M. Jaradat
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
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30
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Sir Karakus G, Tastan C, Dilek Kancagi D, Yurtsever B, Tumentemur G, Demir S, Turan RD, Abanuz S, Cakirsoy D, Seyis U, Ozer S, Elibol O, Elek M, Ertop G, Arbak S, Acikel Elmas M, Hemsinlioglu C, Kocagoz AS, Hatirnaz Ng O, Akyoney S, Sahin I, Ozbek U, Telci D, Sahin F, Yalcin K, Ratip S, Ovali E. Preclinical efficacy and safety analysis of gamma-irradiated inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5804. [PMID: 33707532 PMCID: PMC7970959 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83930-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 created an unprecedented health crisis since there is no vaccine for this novel virus. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have become crucial for reducing morbidity and mortality. In this study, in vitro and in vivo safety and efficacy analyzes of lyophilized vaccine candidates inactivated by gamma-irradiation were performed. The candidate vaccines in this study were OZG-3861 version 1 (V1), an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine, and SK-01 version 1 (V1), a GM-CSF adjuvant added vaccine. The candidate vaccines were applied intradermally to BALB/c mice to assess toxicity and immunogenicity. Preliminary results in vaccinated mice are reported in this study. Especially, the vaccine models containing GM-CSF caused significant antibody production with neutralization capacity in absence of the antibody-dependent enhancement feature, when considered in terms of T and B cell responses. Another important finding was that the presence of adjuvant was more important in T cell in comparison with B cell response. Vaccinated mice showed T cell response upon restimulation with whole inactivated SARS-CoV-2 or peptide pool. This study shows that the vaccines are effective and leads us to start the challenge test to investigate the gamma-irradiated inactivated vaccine candidates for infective SARS-CoV-2 virus in humanized ACE2 + mice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cihan Tastan
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Department, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Bulut Yurtsever
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gamze Tumentemur
- Vocational School of Health Services, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sevda Demir
- Genetic and Bioengineering Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Raife Dilek Turan
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Genetic and Bioengineering Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Selen Abanuz
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Medical Biochemistry Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Didem Cakirsoy
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Medical Biotechnology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Utku Seyis
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Samed Ozer
- Animal Application and Research Center, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Omer Elibol
- Acibadem Altunizade Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Muhammer Elek
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Genetic and Bioengineering Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gurcan Ertop
- Vocational School of Health Services, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Serap Arbak
- Histology and Embryology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Merve Acikel Elmas
- Histology and Embryology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | | | - Ozden Hatirnaz Ng
- Medical Biology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sezer Akyoney
- Medical Biology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ilayda Sahin
- Medical Biotechnology Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Medical Genetics Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ugur Ozbek
- Medical Genetics Department, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Dilek Telci
- Genetic and Bioengineering Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Fikrettin Sahin
- Genetic and Bioengineering Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Koray Yalcin
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey
- Medical Park Goztepe Hospital, Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Siret Ratip
- Hematology Department, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ercument Ovali
- Acibadem Labcell Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey.
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31
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García-Arriaza J, Garaigorta U, Pérez P, Lázaro-Frías A, Zamora C, Gastaminza P, Del Fresno C, Casasnovas JM, Sorzano CÓS, Sancho D, Esteban M. COVID-19 vaccine candidates based on modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike induce robust T- and B-cell immune responses and full efficacy in mice. J Virol 2021; 95:JVI.02260-20. [PMID: 33414159 PMCID: PMC8092708 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02260-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, are urgently needed. We developed two COVID-19 vaccines based on modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vectors expressing the entire SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein (MVA-CoV2-S); their immunogenicity was evaluated in mice using DNA/MVA or MVA/MVA prime/boost immunizations. Both vaccines induced robust, broad and polyfunctional S-specific CD4+ (mainly Th1) and CD8+ T-cell responses, with a T effector memory phenotype. DNA/MVA immunizations elicited higher T-cell responses. All vaccine regimens triggered high titers of IgG antibodies specific for the S, as well as for the receptor-binding domain; the predominance of the IgG2c isotype was indicative of Th1 immunity. Notably, serum samples from vaccinated mice neutralized SARS-CoV-2 in cell cultures, and those from MVA/MVA immunizations showed a higher neutralizing capacity. Remarkably, one or two doses of MVA-CoV2-S protect humanized K18-hACE2 mice from a lethal dose of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, two doses of MVA-CoV2-S confer full inhibition of virus replication in the lungs. These results demonstrate the robust immunogenicity and full efficacy of MVA-based COVID-19 vaccines in animal models and support its translation to the clinic.IMPORTANCE The continuous dissemination of the novel emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus, with more than 78 million infected cases worldwide and higher than 1,700,000 deaths as of December 23, 2020, highlights the urgent need for the development of novel vaccines against COVID-19. With this aim, we have developed novel vaccine candidates based on the poxvirus modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) strain expressing the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, and we have evaluated their immunogenicity in mice using DNA/MVA or MVA/MVA prime/boost immunization protocols. The results showed the induction of a potent S-specific T-cell response and high titers of neutralizing antibodies. Remarkably, humanized K18-hACE2 mice immunized with one or two doses of the MVA-based vaccine were 100% protected from SARS-CoV-2 lethality. Moreover, two doses of the vaccine prevented virus replication in lungs. Our findings prove the robust immunogenicity and efficacy of MVA-based COVID-19 vaccines in animal models and support its translation to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan García-Arriaza
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Urtzi Garaigorta
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Pérez
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Lázaro-Frías
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Zamora
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Gastaminza
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Del Fresno
- Laboratory of Immunobiology, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - José M Casasnovas
- Department of Macromolecular Structures, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Óscar S Sorzano
- Biocomputing Unit, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - David Sancho
- Laboratory of Immunobiology, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariano Esteban
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain;
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32
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de la Fuente IF, Sawant SS, Tolentino MQ, Corrigan PM, Rouge JL. Viral Mimicry as a Design Template for Nucleic Acid Nanocarriers. Front Chem 2021; 9:613209. [PMID: 33777893 PMCID: PMC7987652 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.613209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic nucleic acids hold immense potential in combating undruggable, gene-based diseases owing to their high programmability and relative ease of synthesis. While the delivery of this class of therapeutics has successfully entered the clinical setting, extrahepatic targeting, endosomal escape efficiency, and subcellular localization. On the other hand, viruses serve as natural carriers of nucleic acids and have acquired a plethora of structures and mechanisms that confer remarkable transfection efficiency. Thus, understanding the structure and mechanism of viruses can guide the design of synthetic nucleic acid vectors. This review revisits relevant structural and mechanistic features of viruses as design considerations for efficient nucleic acid delivery systems. This article explores how viral ligand display and a metastable structure are central to the molecular mechanisms of attachment, entry, and viral genome release. For comparison, accounted for are details on the design and intracellular fate of existing nucleic acid carriers and nanostructures that share similar and essential features to viruses. The review, thus, highlights unifying themes of viruses and nucleic acid delivery systems such as genome protection, target specificity, and controlled release. Sophisticated viral mechanisms that are yet to be exploited in oligonucleotide delivery are also identified as they could further the development of next-generation nonviral nucleic acid vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jessica L. Rouge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
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33
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Allen JD, Chawla H, Samsudin F, Zuzic L, Shivgan AT, Watanabe Y, He WT, Callaghan S, Song G, Yong P, Brouwer PJM, Song Y, Cai Y, Duyvesteyn HME, Malinauskas T, Kint J, Pino P, Wurm MJ, Frank M, Chen B, Stuart DI, Sanders RW, Andrabi R, Burton DR, Li S, Bond PJ, Crispin M. Site-specific steric control of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycosylation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.03.08.433764. [PMID: 33758835 PMCID: PMC7986994 DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.08.433764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
A central tenet in the design of vaccines is the display of native-like antigens in the elicitation of protective immunity. The abundance of N-linked glycans across the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is a potential source of heterogeneity between the many different vaccine candidates under investigation. Here, we investigate the glycosylation of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins from five different laboratories and compare them against infectious virus S protein. We find patterns which are conserved across all samples and this can be associated with site-specific stalling of glycan maturation which act as a highly sensitive reporter of protein structure. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a fully glycosylated spike support s a model of steric restrictions that shape enzymatic processing of the glycans. These results suggest that recombinant spike-based SARS-CoV-2 immunogen glycosylation reproducibly recapitulates signatures of viral glycosylation.
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Amanat F, Strohmeier S, Rathnasinghe R, Schotsaert M, Coughlan L, García-Sastre A, Krammer F. Introduction of Two Prolines and Removal of the Polybasic Cleavage Site Lead to Higher Efficacy of a Recombinant Spike-Based SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in the Mouse Model. mBio 2021; 12:e02648-20. [PMID: 33653892 PMCID: PMC8092267 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02648-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the prime target for vaccine development. The spike protein mediates both binding to host cells and membrane fusion and is also so far the only known viral target of neutralizing antibodies. Coronavirus spike proteins are large trimers that are relatively unstable, a feature that might be enhanced by the presence of a polybasic cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 spike. Exchange of K986 and V987 for prolines has been shown to stabilize the trimers of SARS-CoV-1 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike proteins. Here, we test multiple versions of a soluble spike protein for their immunogenicity and protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in a mouse model that transiently expresses human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 via adenovirus transduction. Variants tested include spike proteins with a deleted polybasic cleavage site, proline mutations, or a combination thereof, besides the wild-type protein. While all versions of the protein were able to induce neutralizing antibodies, only the antigen with both a deleted cleavage site and the K986P and V987P (PP) mutations completely protected from challenge in this mouse model.IMPORTANCE A vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. A better understanding of antigen design and attributes that vaccine candidates need to have to induce protective immunity is of high importance. The data presented here validate the choice of antigens that contain the PP mutations and suggest that deletion of the polybasic cleavage site may lead to a further-optimized design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Amanat
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Shirin Strohmeier
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Raveen Rathnasinghe
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael Schotsaert
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lynda Coughlan
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Adolfo García-Sastre
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Florian Krammer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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Dash P, Mohapatra S, Ghosh S, Nayak B. A Scoping Insight on Potential Prophylactics, Vaccines and Therapeutic Weaponry for the Ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic- A Comprehensive Review. Front Pharmacol 2021; 11:590154. [PMID: 33815095 PMCID: PMC8015872 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.590154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of highly virulent CoVs (SARS-CoV-2), the etiologic agent of novel ongoing "COVID-19" pandemics has been marked as an alarming case of pneumonia posing a large global healthcare crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Currently, the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled an international demand in the biomedical field for the mitigation of the fast-spreading illness, all through the urgent deployment of safe, effective, and rational therapeutic strategies along with epidemiological control. Confronted with such contagious respiratory distress, the global population has taken significant steps towards a more robust strategy of containment and quarantine to halt the total number of positive cases but such a strategy can only delay the spread. A substantial number of potential vaccine candidates are undergoing multiple clinical trials to combat COVID-19 disease, includes live-attenuated, inactivated, viral-vectored based, sub-unit vaccines, DNA, mRNA, peptide, adjuvant, plant, and nanoparticle-based vaccines. However, there are no licensed anti-COVID-19 drugs/therapies or vaccines that have proven to work as more effective therapeutic candidates in open-label clinical trial studies. To counteract the infection (SARS-CoV-2), many people are under prolonged treatment of many chemical drugs that inhibit the PLpro activity (Ribavirin), viral proteases (Lopinavir/Ritonavir), RdRp activity (Favipiravir, Remdesivir), viral membrane fusion (Umifenovir, Chloroquine phosphate (CQ), Hydroxychloroquine phosphate (HCQ), IL-6 overexpression (Tocilizumab, Siltuximab, Sarilumab). Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy and Convalescent Plasma Therapy have emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 virion. On the other hand, repurposing previously designed antiviral agents with tolerable safety profile and efficacy could be the only promising approach and fast response to the novel virion. In addition, research institutions and corporations have commenced the redesign of the available therapeutic strategy to manage the global crisis. Herein, we present succinct information on selected anti-COVID-19 therapeutic medications repurposed to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Finally, this review will provide exhaustive detail on recent prophylactic strategies and ongoing clinical trials to curb this deadly pandemic, outlining the major therapeutic areas for researchers to step in.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Bismita Nayak
- Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Department of Life Science, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha, India
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36
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Collier DA, De Marco A, Ferreira IATM, Meng B, Datir R, Walls AC, Kemp S SA, Bassi J, Pinto D, Fregni CS, Bianchi S, Tortorici MA, Bowen J, Culap K, Jaconi S, Cameroni E, Snell G, Pizzuto MS, Pellanda AF, Garzoni C, Riva A, Elmer A, Kingston N, Graves B, McCoy LE, Smith KG, Bradley JR, Temperton N, Ceron-Gutierrez L L, Barcenas-Morales G, Harvey W, Virgin HW, Lanzavecchia A, Piccoli L, Doffinger R, Wills M, Veesler D, Corti D, Gupta RK. SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 sensitivity to mRNA vaccine-elicited, convalescent and monoclonal antibodies. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2021:2021.01.19.21249840. [PMID: 33619509 PMCID: PMC7899479 DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.19.21249840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is uncontrolled in many parts of the world, compounded in some areas by higher transmission potential of the B1.1.7 variant now seen in 50 countries. It is unclear whether responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines based on the prototypic strain will be impacted by mutations found in B.1.1.7. Here we assessed immune responses following vaccination with mRNA-based vaccine BNT162b2. We measured neutralising antibody responses following a single immunization using pseudoviruses expressing the wild-type Spike protein or the 8 amino acid mutations found in the B.1.1.7 spike protein. The vaccine sera exhibited a broad range of neutralising titres against the wild-type pseudoviruses that were modestly reduced against B.1.1.7 variant. This reduction was also evident in sera from some convalescent patients. Decreased B.1.1.7 neutralisation was also observed with monoclonal antibodies targeting the N-terminal domain (9 out of 10), the Receptor Binding Motif (RBM) (5 out of 31), but not in neutralising mAbs binding outside the RBM. Introduction of the E484K mutation in a B.1.1.7 background to reflect newly emerging viruses in the UK led to a more substantial loss of neutralising activity by vaccine-elicited antibodies and mAbs (19 out of 31) over that conferred by the B.1.1.7 mutations alone. E484K emergence on a B.1.1.7 background represents a threat to the vaccine BNT162b.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dami A Collier
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Anna De Marco
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Isabella A T M Ferreira
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Bo Meng
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rawlings Datir
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Alexandra C Walls
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Steven A Kemp S
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jessica Bassi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Dora Pinto
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Siro Bianchi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - John Bowen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Katja Culap
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Jaconi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Elisabetta Cameroni
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Matteo S Pizzuto
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Christian Garzoni
- Clinic of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Clinica Luganese Moncucco, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Agostino Riva
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Anne Elmer
- NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | - Laura E McCoy
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kenneth Gc Smith
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - John R Bradley
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- NIHR Bioresource, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | - Gabriela Barcenas-Morales
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Addenbrookes Hospital, UK
- Laboratorio de Inmunologia, S-Cuautitlán, UNAM, Mexico
| | - William Harvey
- Institute of Biodiversity, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Antonio Lanzavecchia
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Luca Piccoli
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Rainer Doffinger
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Addenbrookes Hospital, UK
| | - Mark Wills
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Veesler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Davide Corti
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Ravindra K Gupta
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, UK
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge UK
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37
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Blakney AK, Ip S, Geall AJ. An Update on Self-Amplifying mRNA Vaccine Development. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:97. [PMID: 33525396 PMCID: PMC7911542 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9020097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This review will explore the four major pillars required for design and development of an saRNA vaccine: Antigen design, vector design, non-viral delivery systems, and manufacturing (both saRNA and lipid nanoparticles (LNP)). We report on the major innovations, preclinical and clinical data reported in the last five years and will discuss future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Shell Ip
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P 6T7, Canada; (S.I.); (A.J.G.)
| | - Andrew J. Geall
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P 6T7, Canada; (S.I.); (A.J.G.)
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38
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Buschmann MD, Carrasco MJ, Alishetty S, Paige M, Alameh MG, Weissman D. Nanomaterial Delivery Systems for mRNA Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:65. [PMID: 33478109 PMCID: PMC7836001 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9010065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 258] [Impact Index Per Article: 86.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent success of mRNA vaccines in SARS-CoV-2 clinical trials is in part due to the development of lipid nanoparticle delivery systems that not only efficiently express the mRNA-encoded immunogen after intramuscular injection, but also play roles as adjuvants and in vaccine reactogenicity. We present an overview of mRNA delivery systems and then focus on the lipid nanoparticles used in the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine clinical trials. The review concludes with an analysis of the determinants of the performance of lipid nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Buschmann
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 1J7, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (M.J.C.); (S.A.)
| | - Manuel J. Carrasco
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 1J7, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (M.J.C.); (S.A.)
| | - Suman Alishetty
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 1J7, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; (M.J.C.); (S.A.)
| | - Mikell Paige
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA;
| | - Mohamad Gabriel Alameh
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 130 Stemmler Hall, 3450 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
| | - Drew Weissman
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 410B Hill Pavilion, 380 S. University Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
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Fougeroux C, Goksøyr L, Idorn M, Soroka V, Myeni SK, Dagil R, Janitzek CM, Søgaard M, Aves KL, Horsted EW, Erdoğan SM, Gustavsson T, Dorosz J, Clemmensen S, Fredsgaard L, Thrane S, Vidal-Calvo EE, Khalifé P, Hulen TM, Choudhary S, Theisen M, Singh SK, Garcia-Senosiain A, Van Oosten L, Pijlman G, Hierzberger B, Domeyer T, Nalewajek BW, Strøbæk A, Skrzypczak M, Andersson LF, Buus S, Buus AS, Christensen JP, Dalebout TJ, Iversen K, Harritshøj LH, Mordmüller B, Ullum H, Reinert LS, de Jongh WA, Kikkert M, Paludan SR, Theander TG, Nielsen MA, Salanti A, Sander AF. Capsid-like particles decorated with the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain elicit strong virus neutralization activity. Nat Commun 2021; 12:324. [PMID: 33436573 PMCID: PMC7804149 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20251-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is a global priority. Here, we develop two capsid-like particle (CLP)-based vaccines displaying the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. RBD antigens are displayed on AP205 CLPs through a split-protein Tag/Catcher, ensuring unidirectional and high-density display of RBD. Both soluble recombinant RBD and RBD displayed on CLPs bind the ACE2 receptor with nanomolar affinity. Mice are vaccinated with soluble RBD or CLP-displayed RBD, formulated in Squalene-Water-Emulsion. The RBD-CLP vaccines induce higher levels of serum anti-spike antibodies than the soluble RBD vaccines. Remarkably, one injection with our lead RBD-CLP vaccine in mice elicits virus neutralization antibody titers comparable to those found in patients that had recovered from COVID-19. Following booster vaccinations, the virus neutralization titers exceed those measured after natural infection, at serum dilutions above 1:10,000. Thus, the RBD-CLP vaccine is a highly promising candidate for preventing COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise Goksøyr
- AdaptVac Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Manja Idorn
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Sebenzile K Myeni
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, ZA, Leiden, 2333, Netherlands
| | - Robert Dagil
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- VAR2pharmaceuticals, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christoph M Janitzek
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Max Søgaard
- ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Kara-Lee Aves
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Emma W Horsted
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sayit Mahmut Erdoğan
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Tobias Gustavsson
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- VAR2pharmaceuticals, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jerzy Dorosz
- ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | | | - Laurits Fredsgaard
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | - Paul Khalifé
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas M Hulen
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Swati Choudhary
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- VAR2pharmaceuticals, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael Theisen
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department for Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institute, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Susheel K Singh
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department for Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institute, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Asier Garcia-Senosiain
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department for Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institute, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Linda Van Oosten
- Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Virology, 6700AA, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Gorben Pijlman
- Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Virology, 6700AA, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Tanja Domeyer
- ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - Søren Buus
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Danmark
| | - Anette Stryhn Buus
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Danmark
| | - Jan Pravsgaard Christensen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200, Copenhagen, Danmark
| | - Tim J Dalebout
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, ZA, Leiden, 2333, Netherlands
| | - Kasper Iversen
- Department of Cardiology, Herlev Hospital, 2730, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Lene H Harritshøj
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Benjamin Mordmüller
- Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Institut für Tropenmedizin, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, BP 242, Lambaréné, Gabon
| | - Henrik Ullum
- Department of Cardiology, Herlev Hospital, 2730, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Line S Reinert
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Willem Adriaan de Jongh
- AdaptVac Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
- ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Marjolein Kikkert
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, ZA, Leiden, 2333, Netherlands
| | - Søren R Paludan
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thor G Theander
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Morten A Nielsen
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Ali Salanti
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
- VAR2pharmaceuticals, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Adam F Sander
- AdaptVac Aps, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark.
- Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department for Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Department of Infectious Disease, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Russell RL, Pelka P, Mark BL. Frontrunners in the race to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Can J Microbiol 2020; 67:189-212. [PMID: 33264067 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2020-0465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Numerous studies continue to be published on the COVID-19 pandemic that is being caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Given the rapidly evolving global response to SARS-CoV-2, here we primarily review the leading COVID-19 vaccine strategies that are currently in Phase III clinical trials. Nonreplicating viral vector strategies, inactivated virus, recombinant protein subunit vaccines, and nucleic acid vaccine platforms are all being pursued in an effort to combat the infection. Preclinical and clinal trial results of these efforts are examined as well as the characteristics of each vaccine strategy from the humoral and cellular immune responses they stimulate, effects of any adjuvants used, and the potential risks associated with immunization such as antibody-dependent enhancement. A number of promising advancements have been made toward the development of multiple vaccine candidates. Preliminary data now emerging from phase III clinical trials show encouraging results for the protective efficacy and safety of at least 3 frontrunning candidates. There is hope that one or more will emerge as potent weapons to protect against SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel L Russell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.,Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Peter Pelka
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.,Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Brian L Mark
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.,Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
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41
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Kanakan A, Mishra N, Srinivasa Vasudevan J, Sahni S, Khan A, Sharma S, Pandey R. Threading the Pieces Together: Integrative Perspective on SARS-CoV-2. Pathogens 2020; 9:E912. [PMID: 33158051 PMCID: PMC7694192 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9110912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has challenged the research community globally to innovate, interact, and integrate findings across hierarchies. Research on SARS-CoV-2 has produced an abundance of data spanning multiple parallels, including clinical data, SARS-CoV-2 genome architecture, host response captured through transcriptome and genetic variants, microbial co-infections (metagenome), and comorbidities. Disease phenotypes in the case of COVID-19 present an intriguing complexity that includes a broad range of symptomatic to asymptomatic individuals, further compounded by a vast heterogeneity within the spectrum of clinical symptoms displayed by the symptomatic individuals. The clinical outcome is further modulated by the presence of comorbid conditions at the point of infection. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced an expansive wealth of literature touching many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 ranging from causal to outcome, predisposition to protective (possible), co-infection to comorbidity, and differential mortality globally. As challenges provide opportunities, the current pandemic's challenge has underscored the need and opportunity to work for an integrative approach that may be able to thread together the multiple variables. Through this review, we have made an effort towards bringing together information spanning across different domains to facilitate researchers globally in pursuit of their response to SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Rajesh Pandey
- INtegrative GENomics of HOst-PathogEn (INGEN-HOPE) Laboratory, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), Delhi 110007, India; (A.K.); (N.M.); (J.S.V.); (S.S.); (A.K.); (S.S.)
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42
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Jain S, Batra H, Yadav P, Chand S. COVID-19 Vaccines Currently under Preclinical and Clinical Studies, and Associated Antiviral Immune Response. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8040649. [PMID: 33153096 PMCID: PMC7711779 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8040649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 10/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
With a death toll of over one million worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become the most devastating humanitarian catastrophe in recent decades. The fear of acquiring infection and spreading to vulnerable people has severely impacted society's socio-economic status. To put an end to this growing number of infections and deaths as well as to switch from restricted to everyday living, an effective vaccine is desperately needed. As a result, enormous efforts have been made globally to develop numerous vaccine candidates in a matter of months. Currently, over 30 vaccine candidates are under assessment in clinical trials, with several undergoing preclinical studies. Here, we reviewed the major vaccine candidates based on the specific vaccine platform utilized to develop them. We also discussed the immune responses generated by these candidates in humans and preclinical models to determine vaccine safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy. Finally, immune responses induced in recovered COVID-19 patients and their possible vaccine development implications were also briefly reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swati Jain
- Department of Biology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA; (S.J.); (H.B.)
| | - Himanshu Batra
- Department of Biology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA; (S.J.); (H.B.)
| | - Poonam Yadav
- CHI Health, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68131, USA;
| | - Subhash Chand
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-402-559-8017
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Xu Z, Patel A, Tursi NJ, Zhu X, Muthumani K, Kulp DW, Weiner DB. Harnessing Recent Advances in Synthetic DNA and Electroporation Technologies for Rapid Vaccine Development Against COVID-19 and Other Emerging Infectious Diseases. FRONTIERS IN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY 2020; 2:571030. [PMID: 35047878 PMCID: PMC8757735 DOI: 10.3389/fmedt.2020.571030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA vaccines are considered as a third-generation vaccination approach in which antigenic materials are encoded as DNA plasmids for direct in vivo production to elicit adaptive immunity. As compared to other platforms, DNA vaccination is considered to have a strong safety profile, as DNA plasmids neither replicate nor elicit vector-directed immune responses in hosts. While earlier work found the immune responses induced by DNA vaccines to be sub-optimal in larger mammals and humans, recent developments in key synthetic DNA and electroporation delivery technologies have now allowed DNA vaccines to elicit significantly more potent and consistent responses in several clinical studies. This paper will review findings from the recent clinical and preclinical studies on DNA vaccines targeting emerging infectious diseases (EID) including COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the technological advancements pivotal to the improved responses-including the use of the advanced delivery technology, DNA-encoded cytokine/mucosal adjuvants, and innovative concepts in immunogen design. With continuous advancement over the past three decades, the DNA approach is now poised to develop vaccines against COVID-19, as well as other EIDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyang Xu
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Ami Patel
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nicholas J Tursi
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Xizhou Zhu
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Kar Muthumani
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Daniel W Kulp
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - David B Weiner
- The Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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44
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Outlaw VK, Bovier FT, Mears MC, Cajimat MN, Zhu Y, Lin MJ, Addetia A, Lieberman NAP, Peddu V, Xie X, Shi PY, Greninger AL, Gellman SH, Bente DA, Moscona A, Porotto M. Inhibition of Coronavirus Entry In Vitro and Ex Vivo by a Lipid-Conjugated Peptide Derived from the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein HRC Domain. mBio 2020; 11:e01935-20. [PMID: 33082259 PMCID: PMC7587434 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01935-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has erupted into a global pandemic that has led to tens of millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. The development of therapeutics to treat infection or as prophylactics to halt viral transmission and spread is urgently needed. SARS-CoV-2 relies on structural rearrangements within a spike (S) glycoprotein to mediate fusion of the viral and host cell membranes. Here, we describe the development of a lipopeptide that is derived from the C-terminal heptad repeat (HRC) domain of SARS-CoV-2 S that potently inhibits infection by SARS-CoV-2. The lipopeptide inhibits cell-cell fusion mediated by SARS-CoV-2 S and blocks infection by live SARS-CoV-2 in Vero E6 cell monolayers more effectively than previously described lipopeptides. The SARS-CoV-2 lipopeptide exhibits broad-spectrum activity by inhibiting cell-cell fusion mediated by SARS-CoV-1 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and blocking infection by live MERS-CoV in cell monolayers. We also show that the SARS-CoV-2 HRC-derived lipopeptide potently blocks the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in human airway epithelial (HAE) cultures, an ex vivo model designed to mimic respiratory viral propagation in humans. While viral spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection was widespread in untreated airways, those treated with SARS-CoV-2 HRC lipopeptide showed no detectable evidence of viral spread. These data provide a framework for the development of peptide therapeutics for the treatment of or prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 as well as other coronaviruses.IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, continues to spread globally, placing strain on health care systems and resulting in rapidly increasing numbers of cases and mortalities. Despite the growing need for medical intervention, no FDA-approved vaccines are yet available, and treatment has been limited to supportive therapy for the alleviation of symptoms. Entry inhibitors could fill the important role of preventing initial infection and preventing spread. Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a lipopeptide that is derived from the HRC domain of the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein that potently inhibits fusion mediated by SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein and blocks infection by live SARS-CoV-2 in both cell monolayers (in vitro) and human airway tissues (ex vivo). Our results highlight the SARS-CoV-2 HRC-derived lipopeptide as a promising therapeutic candidate for SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor K Outlaw
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Francesca T Bovier
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Caserta, Italy
| | - Megan C Mears
- Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
- Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Maria N Cajimat
- Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
- Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Yun Zhu
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Michelle J Lin
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Amin Addetia
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Nicole A P Lieberman
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Vikas Peddu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Xuping Xie
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Pei-Yong Shi
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Alexander L Greninger
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Samuel H Gellman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Dennis A Bente
- Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Anne Moscona
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Matteo Porotto
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Caserta, Italy
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Huang J, Tao G, Liu J, Cai J, Huang Z, Chen JX. Current Prevention of COVID-19: Natural Products and Herbal Medicine. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:588508. [PMID: 33178026 PMCID: PMC7597394 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.588508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Starting from December 2019, novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous economic loss and unprecedented health crisis across the globe. While the development of cure is at full speed, less attention and fewer effort have been spent on the prevention of this rapidly spreading respiratory infectious disease. Although so far, several vaccine candidates have advanced into clinical trials, limited data have been released regarding the vaccine efficacy and safety in human, not mention the long-term effectiveness of those vaccines remain as open question yet. Natural products and herbal medicines have been historically used for acute respiratory infection and generally show acceptable toxicity. The favorable stability for oral formulation and ease of scaling up manufacture make it ideal candidate for prophylactic. Hereby, we summarized the most recent advance in SARS-CoV-2 prevention including vaccine development as well as experimental prophylactics. Mainly, we reviewed the natural products showing inhibitory effect on human coronavirus, and discussed the herbal medicines lately used for COVID-19, especially focused on the herbal products already approved by regulatory agency with identifiable patent number. We demonstrated that to fill in the response gap between appropriate treatment and commercially available vaccine, repurposing natural products and herbal medicines as prophylactic will be a vigorous approach to stop or at least slow down SARS-CoV-2 transmission. In the interest of public health, this will lend health officials better control on the current pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junqing Huang
- Formula-pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Gabriel Tao
- Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Jingwen Liu
- Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Junming Cai
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Zhongyu Huang
- Formula-pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jia-xu Chen
- Formula-pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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Abstract
The current COVID-19 pandemic has substantially accelerated the demands for efficient vaccines. A wide spectrum of approaches includes live attenuated and inactivated viruses, protein subunits and peptides, viral vector-based delivery, DNA plasmids, and synthetic mRNA. Preclinical studies have demonstrated robust immune responses, reduced viral loads and protection against challenges with SARS-CoV-2 in rodents and primates. Vaccine candidates based on all delivery systems mentioned above have been subjected to clinical trials in healthy volunteers. Phase I clinical trials have demonstrated in preliminary findings good safety and tolerability. Evaluation of immune responses in a small number of individuals has demonstrated similar or superior levels of neutralizing antibodies in comparison to immunogenicity detected in COVID-19 patients. Both adenovirus- and mRNA-based vaccines have entered phase II and study protocols for phase III trials with 30,000 participants have been finalized.
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47
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Amanat F, Strohmeier S, Rathnasinghe R, Schotsaert M, Coughlan L, García-Sastre A, Krammer F. Introduction of two prolines and removal of the polybasic cleavage site leads to optimal efficacy of a recombinant spike based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in the mouse model. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.09.16.300970. [PMID: 32995785 PMCID: PMC7523111 DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.16.300970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the prime target for vaccine development. The spike protein mediates both binding to host cells and membrane fusion and is also so far the only known viral target of neutralizing antibodies. Coronavirus spike proteins are large trimers that are relatively instable, a feature that might be enhanced by the presence of a polybasic cleavage site in the SARS-CoV-2 spike. Exchange of K986 and V987 to prolines has been shown to stabilize the trimers of SARS-CoV-1 and the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus spikes. Here, we test multiple versions of a soluble spike protein for their immunogenicity and protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in a mouse model that transiently expresses human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 via adenovirus transduction. Variants tested include spike protein with a deleted polybasic cleavage site, the proline mutations, a combination thereof, as well as the wild type protein. While all versions of the protein were able to induce neutralizing antibodies, only the antigen with both a deleted cleavage site and the PP mutations completely protected from challenge in this mouse model. IMPORTANCE A vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed. A better understanding of antigen design and attributes that vaccine candidates need to have to induce protective immunity is of high importance. The data presented here validates the choice of antigens that contain the PP mutation and suggests that deletion of the polybasic cleavage site could lead to a further optimized design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Amanat
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Shirin Strohmeier
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Raveen Rathnasinghe
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Michael Schotsaert
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Lynda Coughlan
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Adolfo García-Sastre
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Florian Krammer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
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48
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Kleen TO, Galdon AA, MacDonald AS, Dalgleish AG. Mitigating Coronavirus Induced Dysfunctional Immunity for At-Risk Populations in COVID-19: Trained Immunity, BCG and "New Old Friends". Front Immunol 2020; 11:2059. [PMID: 33013871 PMCID: PMC7498663 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.02059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The novel, highly contagious coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spreads rapidly throughout the world, leading to a deadly pandemic of a predominantly respiratory illness called COVID-19. Safe and effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are urgently needed. However, emerging immunological observations show hallmarks of significant immunopathological characteristics and dysfunctional immune responses in patients with COVID-19. Combined with existing knowledge about immune responses to other closely related and highly pathogenic coronaviruses, this could forebode significant challenges for vaccine development, including the risk of vaccine failure. Animal data from earlier coronavirus vaccine efforts indicate that elderly people, most at risk from severe COVID-19 disease, could be especially at risk from immunopathologic responses to novel coronavirus vaccines. Bacterial "new old friends" such as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or Mycobacterium obuense have the ability to elevate basal systemic levels of type 1 cytokines and immune cells, correlating with increased protection against diverse and unrelated infectious agents, called "trained immunity." Here we describe dysfunctional immune responses induced by coronaviruses, representing potentially difficult to overcome obstacles to safe, effective vaccine development for COVID-19, and outline how trained immunity could help protect high risk populations through immunomodulation with BCG and other "new old friends."
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alicia A. Galdon
- Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew S. MacDonald
- Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Angus G. Dalgleish
- Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George’s, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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49
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Batra N, De Souza C, Batra J, Raetz AG, Yu AM. The HMOX1 Pathway as a Promising Target for the Treatment and Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 of 2019 (COVID-19). Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E6412. [PMID: 32899231 PMCID: PMC7503392 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21176412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a global pandemic with increasing incidence and mortality rates. Recent evidence based on the cytokine profiles of severe COVID-19 cases suggests an overstimulation of macrophages and monocytes associated with reduced T-cell abundance (lymphopenia) in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 open reading frame 3 a (ORF3a) protein was found to bind to the human HMOX1 protein at a high confidence through high-throughput screening experiments. The HMOX1 pathway can inhibit platelet aggregation, and can have anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory properties, amongst others, all of which are critical medical conditions observed in COVID-19 patients. Here, we review the potential of modulating the HMOX1-ORF3a nexus to regulate the innate immune response for therapeutic benefits in COVID-19 patients. We also review other potential treatment strategies and suggest novel synthetic and natural compounds that may have the potential for future development in clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neelu Batra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; (N.B.); (C.D.S.); (A.G.R.)
| | - Cristabelle De Souza
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; (N.B.); (C.D.S.); (A.G.R.)
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Cancer Center, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Jyoti Batra
- Gladstone Institute, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA;
| | - Alan G. Raetz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; (N.B.); (C.D.S.); (A.G.R.)
| | - Ai-Ming Yu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; (N.B.); (C.D.S.); (A.G.R.)
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50
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Francia V, Schiffelers RM, Cullis PR, Witzigmann D. The Biomolecular Corona of Lipid Nanoparticles for Gene Therapy. Bioconjug Chem 2020; 31:2046-2059. [PMID: 32786370 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.0c00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Gene therapy holds great potential for treating almost any disease by gene silencing, protein expression, or gene correction. To efficiently deliver the nucleic acid payload to its target tissue, the genetic material needs to be combined with a delivery platform. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have proven to be excellent delivery vectors for gene therapy and are increasingly entering into routine clinical practice. Over the past two decades, the optimization of LNP formulations for nucleic acid delivery has led to a well-established body of knowledge culminating in the first-ever RNA interference therapeutic using LNP technology, i.e., Onpattro, and many more in clinical development to deliver various nucleic acid payloads. Screening a lipid library in vivo for optimal gene silencing potency in hepatocytes resulted in the identification of the Onpattro formulation. Subsequent studies discovered that the key to Onpattro's liver tropism is its ability to form a specific "biomolecular corona". In fact, apolipoprotein E (ApoE), among other proteins, adsorbed to the LNP surface enables specific hepatocyte targeting. This proof-of-principle example demonstrates the use of the biomolecular corona for targeting specific receptors and cells, thereby opening up the road to rationally designing LNPs. To date, however, only a few studies have explored in detail the corona of LNPs, and how to efficiently modulate the corona remains poorly understood. In this review, we summarize recent discoveries about the biomolecular corona, expanding the knowledge gained with other nanoparticles to LNPs for nucleic acid delivery. In particular, we address how particle stability, biodistribution, and targeting of LNPs can be influenced by the biological environment. Onpattro is used as a case study to describe both the successful development of an LNP formulation for gene therapy and the key influence of the biological environment. Moreover, we outline the techniques available to isolate and analyze the corona of LNPs, and we highlight their advantages and drawbacks. Finally, we discuss possible implications of the biomolecular corona for LNP delivery and we examine the potential of exploiting the corona as a targeting strategy beyond the liver to develop next-generation gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Francia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Clinical Chemistry and Haematology, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Raymond M Schiffelers
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Haematology, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Pieter R Cullis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,NanoMedicines Innovation Network (NMIN), University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Dominik Witzigmann
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,NanoMedicines Innovation Network (NMIN), University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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