SARS-CoV-2 spike trimer vaccine expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana adjuvanted with Alum elicits protective immune responses in mice.
Shi-Jian SongHeeyeon KimEun Young JangHyungmin JeonHai-Ping DiaoMd Rezaul Islam KhanMi-Seon LeeYoung Jae LeeJeong-Hyun NamSeong-Ryeol KimYoung-Jin KimEun-Ju SohnInhwan HwangJang-Hoon ChoiPublished in: Plant biotechnology journal (2022)
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spurred rapid development of vaccines as part of the public health response. However, the general strategy used to construct recombinant trimeric severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) proteins in mammalian cells is not completely adaptive to molecular farming. Therefore, we generated several constructs of recombinant S proteins for high expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. Intramuscular injection of N. benthamiana-expressed S ct vaccine (NS ct Vac) into Balb/c mice elicited both humoral and cellular immune responses, and booster doses increased neutralizing antibody titres. In human angiotensin-converting enzyme knock-in mice, two doses of NS ct Vac induced anti-S and neutralizing antibodies, which cross-neutralized Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omicron variants. Survival rates after lethal challenge with SARS-CoV-2 were up to 80%, without significant body weight loss, and viral titres in lung tissue fell rapidly, with no infectious virus detectable at 7-day post-infection. Thus, plant-derived NS ct Vac could be a candidate COVID-19 vaccine.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- immune response
- coronavirus disease
- dengue virus
- dual energy
- image quality
- computed tomography
- public health
- contrast enhanced
- angiotensin converting enzyme
- high fat diet induced
- weight loss
- positron emission tomography
- angiotensin ii
- endothelial cells
- zika virus
- bariatric surgery
- magnetic resonance imaging
- high glucose
- gene expression
- roux en y gastric bypass
- metabolic syndrome
- type diabetes
- aedes aegypti
- ultrasound guided
- oxidative stress
- free survival
- obese patients