tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Vaccines (Basel)
. 2021 Aug 27;9(9):957.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9090957.
COVID-19 Subunit Vaccine with a Combination of TLR1/2 and TLR3 Agonists Induces Robust and Protective Immunity
Soo-Kyung Jeong[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yoon-Ki Heo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jei-Hyun Jeong[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Su-Jin Ham[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jung-Sun Yum[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Byung-Cheol Ahn[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chang-Seon Song[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eun-Young Chun[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The development of COVID-19 vaccines is critical in controlling global health issues under the COVID-19 pandemic. The subunit vaccines are the safest and most widely used vaccine platform and highly effective against a multitude of infectious diseases. An adjuvant is essential for subunit vaccines to enhance the magnitude and durability of immune responses. In this study, we determined whether a combination of toll-like receptor (TLR)1/2 and TLR3 agonists (L-pampo) can be a potent adjuvant for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) subunit vaccine. We measured a neutralizing antibody (nAb) and an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor-blocking antibody against SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD). We also detected interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by using ELISPOT and ELISA assays. By employing a ferret model, we detected nAbs and IFN-γ producing cells and measured viral load in nasal wash after the challenge of SARS-CoV-2. We found that SARS-CoV-2 antigens with L-pampo stimulated robust humoral and cellular immune responses. The efficacy of L-pampo was higher than the other adjuvants. Furthermore, in the ferret model, SARS-CoV-2 antigens with L-pampo elicited nAb response and antigen-specific cellular immune response against SARS-CoV-2, resulting in substantially decreased viral load in their nasal wash. Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 antigens formulated with TLR agonists, L-pampo, can be a potent subunit vaccine to promote sufficient protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: IFN-γ-producing T cell; SARS-CoV-2; TLR agonist; adjuvant; cell-mediated immunity; ferret model; mucosal immunity; neutralizing antibody; subunit vaccine.
. 2021 Aug 27;9(9):957.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9090957.
COVID-19 Subunit Vaccine with a Combination of TLR1/2 and TLR3 Agonists Induces Robust and Protective Immunity
Soo-Kyung Jeong[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yoon-Ki Heo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jei-Hyun Jeong[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Su-Jin Ham[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jung-Sun Yum[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Byung-Cheol Ahn[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chang-Seon Song[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eun-Young Chun[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34579194
- DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9090957
Abstract
The development of COVID-19 vaccines is critical in controlling global health issues under the COVID-19 pandemic. The subunit vaccines are the safest and most widely used vaccine platform and highly effective against a multitude of infectious diseases. An adjuvant is essential for subunit vaccines to enhance the magnitude and durability of immune responses. In this study, we determined whether a combination of toll-like receptor (TLR)1/2 and TLR3 agonists (L-pampo) can be a potent adjuvant for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) subunit vaccine. We measured a neutralizing antibody (nAb) and an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor-blocking antibody against SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD). We also detected interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by using ELISPOT and ELISA assays. By employing a ferret model, we detected nAbs and IFN-γ producing cells and measured viral load in nasal wash after the challenge of SARS-CoV-2. We found that SARS-CoV-2 antigens with L-pampo stimulated robust humoral and cellular immune responses. The efficacy of L-pampo was higher than the other adjuvants. Furthermore, in the ferret model, SARS-CoV-2 antigens with L-pampo elicited nAb response and antigen-specific cellular immune response against SARS-CoV-2, resulting in substantially decreased viral load in their nasal wash. Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 antigens formulated with TLR agonists, L-pampo, can be a potent subunit vaccine to promote sufficient protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: IFN-γ-producing T cell; SARS-CoV-2; TLR agonist; adjuvant; cell-mediated immunity; ferret model; mucosal immunity; neutralizing antibody; subunit vaccine.