A class II MHC-targeted vaccine elicits immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34654739.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2116147118 and PMC identifier 8612213.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in over 100 million infections and millions of deaths. Effective vaccines remain the best hope of curtailing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, morbidity, and mortality. The vaccines in current use require cold storage and sophisticated manufacturing capacity, which complicates their distribution, especially in less developed countries. We report the development of a candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that is purely protein based and directly targets antigen-presenting cells. It consists of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor-binding domain (Spike<sub>RBD</sub>) fused to an alpaca-derived nanobody that recognizes class II major histocompatibility complex antigens (VHH<sub>MHCII</sub>). This vaccine elicits robust humoral and cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Both young and aged mice immunized with two doses of VHH<sub>MHCII</sub>-Spike<sub>RBD</sub> elicit high-titer binding and neutralizing antibodies. Immunization also induces strong cellular immunity, including a robust CD8 T cell response. VHH<sub>MHCII</sub>-Spike<sub>RBD</sub> is stable for at least 7 d at room temperature and can be lyophilized without loss of efficacy.
Medical subject headings
- COVID-19
- COVID-19 Vaccines
- Pandemics
- SARS-CoV-2