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Martin LBB, Kikuchi S, Rejzek M, Owen C, Reed J, Orme A, Misra RC, El-Demerdash A, Hill L, Hodgson H, Liu Y, Keasling JD, Field RA, Truman AW, Osbourn A. Complete biosynthesis of the potent vaccine adjuvant QS-21. Nat Chem Biol 2024; 20:493-502. [PMID: 38278997 PMCID: PMC10972754 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01538-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
QS-21 is a potent vaccine adjuvant currently sourced by extraction from the Chilean soapbark tree. It is a key component of human vaccines for shingles, malaria, coronavirus disease 2019 and others under development. The structure of QS-21 consists of a glycosylated triterpene scaffold coupled to a complex glycosylated 18-carbon acyl chain that is critical for immunostimulant activity. We previously identified the early pathway steps needed to make the triterpene glycoside scaffold; however, the biosynthetic route to the acyl chain, which is needed for stimulation of T cell proliferation, was unknown. Here, we report the biogenic origin of the acyl chain, characterize the series of enzymes required for its synthesis and addition and reconstitute the entire 20-step pathway in tobacco, thereby demonstrating the production of QS-21 in a heterologous expression system. This advance opens up unprecedented opportunities for bioengineering of vaccine adjuvants, investigating structure-activity relationships and understanding the mechanisms by which these compounds promote the human immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martin Rejzek
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - James Reed
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | | | - Amr El-Demerdash
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Lionel Hill
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Yuzhong Liu
- California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
| | - Jay D Keasling
- California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Center for Biosustainability, Danish Technical University, Lyngby, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Shenzhen Institutes for Advanced Technologies, Shenzhen, China
| | - Robert A Field
- Department of Chemistry and Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Anne Osbourn
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
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Abucayon EG, Barrientos RC, Torres OB, Sweeney S, Whalen C, Matyas GR. A Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method to Quantify QS-21 Adjuvant and Its Degradation Products in Liposomal Drug Formulations. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:21016-21025. [PMID: 37323401 PMCID: PMC10268291 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Identification and quantification of an active adjuvant and its degradation product/s in drug formulations are important to ensure drug product safety and efficacy. QS-21 is a potent adjuvant that is currently involved in several clinical vaccine trials and a constituent of licensed vaccines against malaria and shingles. In an aqueous milieu, QS-21 undergoes pH- and temperature-dependent hydrolytic degradation to form a QS-21 HP derivative that may occur during manufacturing and/or long-term storage. Intact QS-21 and deacylated QS-21 HP elicit different immune response profiles; thus, it is imperative to monitor QS-21 degradation in vaccine adjuvant formulation. To date, a suitable quantitative analytical method for QS-21 and its degradation product in drug formulations is not available in the literature. In view of this, a new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and qualified to accurately quantify the active adjuvant QS-21 and its degradation product (QS-21 HP) in liposomal drug formulations. The method was qualified according to the FDA Guidance for Industry: Q2(R1). Study results showed that the described method presents good specificity for QS-21 and QS-21 HP detection in a liposomal matrix, good sensitivity characterized by the limit of detection (LOD)/limit of quantitation (LOQ) in the nanomolar range, linear regressions with correlation coefficients, R2 > 0.999, recoveries in the range of 80-120%, and precise detection and quantification with % relative standard deviation (RSD) < 6% for QS-21 and < 9% for the QS-21 HP impurity assay. The described method was successfully used to accurately evaluate in-process and product release samples of the Army Liposome Formulation containing QS-21 (ALFQ).
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin G. Abucayon
- U.S.
Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States
- Henry
M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, United States
| | - Rodell C. Barrientos
- U.S.
Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States
- Henry
M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, United States
| | - Oscar B. Torres
- U.S.
Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States
- Henry
M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, United States
| | - Scott Sweeney
- Avanti
Polar Lipids, Part of Croda International, 700 Industrial Park Drive, Alabaster, Alabama 35007, United States
| | - Connor Whalen
- U.S.
Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States
- Oak
Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Gary R. Matyas
- U.S.
Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States
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Silveira F, Rivera-Patron M, Deshpande N, Sienra S, Checa J, Moreno M, Chabalgoity JA, Cibulski SP, Baz M. Quillaja brasiliensis nanoparticle adjuvant formulation improves the efficacy of an inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine in mice. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1163858. [PMID: 37197659 PMCID: PMC10183569 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1163858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The threat of viral influenza infections has sparked research efforts to develop vaccines that can induce broadly protective immunity with safe adjuvants that trigger robust immune responses. Here, we demonstrate that subcutaneous or intranasal delivery of a seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) adjuvanted with the Quillaja brasiliensis saponin-based nanoparticle (IMXQB) increases the potency of TIV. The adjuvanted vaccine (TIV-IMXQB) elicited high levels of IgG2a and IgG1 antibodies with virus-neutralizing capacity and improved serum hemagglutination inhibition titers. The cellular immune response induced by TIV-IMXQB suggests the presence of a mixed Th1/Th2 cytokine profile, antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) skewed toward an IgG2a phenotype, a positive delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response, and effector CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. After challenge, viral titers in the lungs were significantly lower in animals receiving TIV-IMXQB than in those inoculated with TIV alone. Most notably, mice vaccinated intranasally with TIV-IMXQB and challenged with a lethal dose of influenza virus were fully protected against weight loss and lung virus replication, with no mortality, whereas, among animals vaccinated with TIV alone, the mortality rate was 75%. These findings demonstrate that TIV-IMXQB improved the immune responses to TIV, and, unlike the commercial vaccine, conferred full protection against influenza challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Silveira
- Departamento de Desarrollo Biotecnológico, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- *Correspondence: Fernando Silveira, ; Mariana Baz,
| | - Mariana Rivera-Patron
- Departamento de Desarrollo Biotecnológico, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Nikita Deshpande
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Soledad Sienra
- Departamento de Desarrollo Biotecnológico, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Jackeline Checa
- Unidad de Biología Parasitaria, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - María Moreno
- Departamento de Desarrollo Biotecnológico, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Jose A. Chabalgoity
- Departamento de Desarrollo Biotecnológico, Instituto de Higiene, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Samuel P. Cibulski
- Centro de Biotecnologia – CBiotec, Laboratório de Biotecnologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
| | - Mariana Baz
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Fernando Silveira, ; Mariana Baz,
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