tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Immunol
. 2022 Feb 24;13:827605.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.827605. eCollection 2022.
DNA Vaccines Expressing the Envelope and Membrane Proteins Provide Partial Protection Against SARS-CoV-2 in Mice
Jinni Chen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Yao Deng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Baoying Huang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Di Han[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Wen Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mengjing Huang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Chengcheng Zhai[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Zhimin Zhao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ren Yang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ying Zhao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Wenling Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Desheng Zhai[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wenjie Tan[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a public health emergency of international concern, and an effective vaccine is urgently needed to control the pandemic. Envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins are highly conserved structural proteins among SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV and have been proposed as potential targets for the development of cross-protective vaccines. Here, synthetic DNA vaccines encoding SARS-CoV-2 E/M proteins (called p-SARS-CoV-2-E/M) were developed, and mice were immunised with three doses via intramuscular injection and electroporation. Significant cellular immune responses were elicited, whereas no robust humoral immunity was detected. In addition, novel H-2d-restricted T-cell epitopes were identified. Notably, although no drop in lung tissue virus titre was detected in DNA-vaccinated mice post-challenge with SARS-CoV-2, immunisation with either p-SARS-CoV-2-E or p-SARS-CoV-2-M provided minor protection and co-immunisation with p-SARS-CoV-2-E+M increased protection. Therefore, E/M proteins should be considered as vaccine candidates as they may be valuable in the optimisation of vaccination strategies against COVID-19.
Keywords: DNA vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; cellular response; envelope protein; humoral response; membrane protein.
. 2022 Feb 24;13:827605.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.827605. eCollection 2022.
DNA Vaccines Expressing the Envelope and Membrane Proteins Provide Partial Protection Against SARS-CoV-2 in Mice
Jinni Chen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Yao Deng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Baoying Huang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Di Han[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Wen Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mengjing Huang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Chengcheng Zhai[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Zhimin Zhao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ren Yang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ying Zhao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Wenling Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Desheng Zhai[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wenjie Tan[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35281016
- PMCID: PMC8907653
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.827605
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a public health emergency of international concern, and an effective vaccine is urgently needed to control the pandemic. Envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins are highly conserved structural proteins among SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV and have been proposed as potential targets for the development of cross-protective vaccines. Here, synthetic DNA vaccines encoding SARS-CoV-2 E/M proteins (called p-SARS-CoV-2-E/M) were developed, and mice were immunised with three doses via intramuscular injection and electroporation. Significant cellular immune responses were elicited, whereas no robust humoral immunity was detected. In addition, novel H-2d-restricted T-cell epitopes were identified. Notably, although no drop in lung tissue virus titre was detected in DNA-vaccinated mice post-challenge with SARS-CoV-2, immunisation with either p-SARS-CoV-2-E or p-SARS-CoV-2-M provided minor protection and co-immunisation with p-SARS-CoV-2-E+M increased protection. Therefore, E/M proteins should be considered as vaccine candidates as they may be valuable in the optimisation of vaccination strategies against COVID-19.
Keywords: DNA vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; cellular response; envelope protein; humoral response; membrane protein.