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Gray LT, Raczy MM, Briquez PS, Marchell TM, Alpar AT, Wallace RP, Volpatti LR, Sasso MS, Cao S, Nguyen M, Mansurov A, Budina E, Watkins EA, Solanki A, Mitrousis N, Reda JW, Yu SS, Tremain AC, Wang R, Nicolaescu V, Furlong K, Dvorkin S, Manicassamy B, Randall G, Wilson DS, Kwissa M, Swartz MA, Hubbell JA. Generation of potent cellular and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 antigens via conjugation to a polymeric glyco-adjuvant. Biomaterials 2021; 278:121159. [PMID: 34634664 PMCID: PMC8482845 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused an unprecedented global crisis, and curtailing its spread requires an effective vaccine which elicits a diverse and robust immune response. We have previously shown that vaccines made of a polymeric glyco-adjuvant conjugated to an antigen were effective in triggering such a response in other disease models and hypothesized that the technology could be adapted to create an effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. The core of the vaccine platform is the copolymer p(Man-TLR7), composed of monomers with pendant mannose or a toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist. Thus, p(Man-TLR7) is designed to target relevant antigen-presenting cells (APCs) via mannose-binding receptors and then activate TLR7 upon endocytosis. The p(Man-TLR7) construct is amenable to conjugation to protein antigens such as the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, yielding Spike-p(Man-TLR7). Here, we demonstrate Spike-p(Man-TLR7) vaccination elicits robust antigen-specific cellular and humoral responses in mice. In adult and elderly wild-type mice, vaccination with Spike-p(Man-TLR7) generates high and long-lasting titers of anti-Spike IgGs, with neutralizing titers exceeding levels in convalescent human serum. Interestingly, adsorbing Spike-p(Man-TLR7) to the depot-forming adjuvant alum amplified the broadly neutralizing humoral responses to levels matching those in mice vaccinated with formulations based off of clinically-approved adjuvants. Additionally, we observed an increase in germinal center B cells, antigen-specific antibody secreting cells, activated T follicular helper cells, and polyfunctional Th1-cytokine producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. We conclude that Spike-p(Man-TLR7) is an attractive, next-generation subunit vaccine candidate, capable of inducing durable and robust antibody and T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura T Gray
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Michal M Raczy
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Priscilla S Briquez
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Tiffany M Marchell
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Aaron T Alpar
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Rachel P Wallace
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Lisa R Volpatti
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Maria Stella Sasso
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Shijie Cao
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Mindy Nguyen
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Aslan Mansurov
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Erica Budina
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Elyse A Watkins
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Ani Solanki
- Animal Resources Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Nikolaos Mitrousis
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Joseph W Reda
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Shann S Yu
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Andrew C Tremain
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Ruyi Wang
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Vlad Nicolaescu
- Department of Microbiology, Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Kevin Furlong
- Department of Microbiology, Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Steve Dvorkin
- Department of Microbiology, Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Balaji Manicassamy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, United States
| | - Glenn Randall
- Department of Microbiology, Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - D Scott Wilson
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21231, United States
| | - Marcin Kwissa
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
| | - Melody A Swartz
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Committee on Cancer Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Ben May Department of Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States.
| | - Jeffrey A Hubbell
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States; Committee on Cancer Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States.
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