Issue 13, 2022

RBD conjugate vaccine with a built-in TLR1/2 agonist is highly immunogenic against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern

Abstract

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing serious impacts in the world, and safe and effective vaccines and medicines are the best methods to combat the disease. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein plays a key role in interacting with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, and is regarded as an important target of vaccines. Herein, we constructed the adjuvant–protein conjugate Pam3CSK4–RBD as a vaccine candidate, in which the N-terminal of the RBD was site-selectively oxidized by transamination and conjugated with the TLR1/2 agonist Pam3CSK4. This demonstrated that the conjugation of Pam3CSK4 significantly enhanced the anti-RBD antibody response and cellular response. In addition, sera from the Pam3CSK4-RBD immunized group efficiently inhibited the binding of the RBD to ACE2 and protected cells from SARS-CoV-2 and four variants of concern (alpha, beta, gamma and delta), indicating that this adjuvant strategy could be one of the effective means for protein vaccine development.

Graphical abstract: RBD conjugate vaccine with a built-in TLR1/2 agonist is highly immunogenic against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
19 Nov 2021
Accepted
10 Jan 2022
First published
10 Jan 2022

Chem. Commun., 2022,58, 2120-2123

RBD conjugate vaccine with a built-in TLR1/2 agonist is highly immunogenic against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern

S. Zhou, R. Zhang, H. Zhang, Y. Liu, Y. Wen, J. Wang, Y. Li, Z. You, X. Yin, H. Qiu, R. Gong, G. Yang and J. Guo, Chem. Commun., 2022, 58, 2120 DOI: 10.1039/D1CC06520C

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