S-Trimer, a COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate, induces protective immunity in nonhuman primates.
Joshua G LiangDanmei SuTian-Zhang SongYilan ZengWei Jin HuangJinhua WuRong XuPeiwen LuoXiaofang YangXiaodong ZhangShuangru LuoYing LiangXinglin LiJiaju HuangQiang WangXueqin HuangQingsong XuMei LuoAnliang HuangDongxia LuoChenyan ZhaoFan YangJian-Bao HanYong-Tang ZhengPeng LiangPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
SARS-CoV-2 is the underlying cause for the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most enveloped RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 uses a homotrimeric surface antigen to gain entry into host cells. Here we describe S-Trimer, a native-like trimeric subunit vaccine candidate for COVID-19 based on Trimer-Tag technology. Immunization of S-Trimer with either AS03 (oil-in-water emulsion) or CpG 1018 (TLR9 agonist) plus alum adjuvants induced high-level of neutralizing antibodies and Th1-biased cellular immune responses in animal models. Moreover, rhesus macaques immunized with adjuvanted S-Trimer were protected from SARS-CoV-2 challenge compared to vehicle controls, based on clinical observations and reduction of viral loads in lungs. Trimer-Tag may be an important platform technology for scalable production and rapid development of safe and effective subunit vaccines against current and future emerging RNA viruses.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- immune response
- induced apoptosis
- toll like receptor
- coronavirus disease
- dna methylation
- high glucose
- protein kinase
- high throughput
- gene expression
- diabetic rats
- oxidative stress
- dendritic cells
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- fatty acid
- genetic diversity
- drug induced
- sensitive detection