A broadly applicable protein-polymer adjuvant system for antiviral vaccines

Caiqian Wang; Yuanyuan Geng; Haoran Wang; Zeheng Ren; Qingxiu Hou; An Fang; Qiong Wu; Liqin Wu; Xiujuan Shi; Ming Zhou; Zhen F Fu; Jonathan F Lovell; Honglin Jin; Ling Zhao

doi:10.1038/s44321-024-00076-4

A broadly applicable protein-polymer adjuvant system for antiviral vaccines

EMBO Mol Med. 2024 May 15. doi: 10.1038/s44321-024-00076-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Caiqian Wang^#^{1

2

3}, Yuanyuan Geng^#⁴, Haoran Wang^{1

3}, Zeheng Ren^{1

3}, Qingxiu Hou^{1

3}, An Fang^{1

3}, Qiong Wu^{1

3}, Liqin Wu^{1

3}, Xiujuan Shi⁴, Ming Zhou^{1

3}, Zhen F Fu^{1

3}, Jonathan F Lovell⁵, Honglin Jin⁶, Ling Zhao^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
² Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430070, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine of Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
⁴ College of Biomedicine and Health and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA. jflovell@buffalo.edu.
⁶ College of Biomedicine and Health and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. jin@hust.edu.cn.
⁷ National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. lingzhao@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
⁸ Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430070, China. lingzhao@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine of Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. lingzhao@mail.hzau.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38750307
DOI: 10.1038/s44321-024-00076-4

Abstract

Although protein subunit vaccines generally have acceptable safety profiles with precise antigenic content, limited immunogenicity can lead to unsatisfactory humoral and cellular immunity and the need for vaccine adjuvants and delivery system. Herein, we assess a vaccine adjuvant system comprising Quillaja Saponaria-21(QS-21) and cobalt porphyrin polymeric micelles that enabling the display of His-tagged antigen on its surface. The nanoscale micelles promote antigen uptake and dendritic cell activation to induce robust cytotoxic T lymphocyte response and germinal center formation. Using the recombinant protein antigens from influenza A and rabies virus, the micelle adjuvant system elicited robust antiviral responses and protected mice from lethal challenge. In addition, this system could be combined with other antigens to induce high titers of neutralizing antibodies in models of three highly pathogenic viral pathogens: Ebola virus, Marburg virus, and Nipah virus. Collectively, our results demonstrate this polymeric micelle adjuvant system can be used as a potent nanoplatform for developing antiviral vaccine countermeasures that promote humoral and cellular immunity.

Keywords: Antigen Delivery; Antiviral Vaccine; Multivalent Display; Nanovaccine; Recombinant Protein Antigens.

Abstract

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