scholarly journals Protein Vaccine Induces a Durable, More Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Response in Macaques than Natural Infection with SARS-CoV-2 P.1

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert To ◽  
Teri Ann S Wong ◽  
Michael M Lieberman ◽  
Karen S Thompson ◽  
Laurent Pessaint ◽  
...  

FDA-approved and Emergency Use Authorized (EUA) vaccines using new mRNA and viral-vector technology are highly effective in preventing moderate to severe disease, however, information on their long-term efficacy and protective breadth against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) is currently scarce. Here we describe the durability and broad-spectrum VOC immunity of a prefusion-stabilized spike (S) protein adjuvanted with liquid or lyophilized CoVaccine HTTM in cynomolgus macaques. This recombinant subunit vaccine is highly immunogenic and induces robust spike-specific and broadly neutralizing antibody responses effective against circulating VOCs (B.1.351 [Beta], P.1 [Gamma], B.1.617 [Delta]) for at least 3 months after the final boost. Protective efficacy and post-exposure immunity were evaluated using a heterologous P.1 challenge nearly 3 months after the last immunization. Our results indicate that while immunization with both high and low S doses shorten and reduce viral loads in the upper and lower respiratory tract, a higher antigen dose is required to provide durable protection against disease as vaccine immunity wanes. Histologically, P.1 infection causes similar COVID-19-like lung pathology as seen with early pandemic isolates. Post-challenge IgG concentrations were restored to peak immunity levels and vaccine-matched and cross-variant neutralizing antibodies were significantly elevated in immunized macaques indicating an efficient anamnestic response. Only low levels of P.1-specific neutralizing antibodies with limited breadth were observed in control (non-vaccinated but challenged) macaques suggesting that natural infection may not prevent reinfection by other VOCs. Overall, these results demonstrate that a properly dosed and adjuvanted recombinant subunit vaccine can provide long-lasting and protective immunity against circulating VOCs.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon Roozendaal ◽  
Laura Solforosi ◽  
Daniel Stieh ◽  
Jan Serroyen ◽  
Roel Straetemans ◽  
...  

The first COVID-19 vaccines have recently gained authorization for emergency use.1,2 At this moment, limited knowledge on duration of immunity and efficacy of these vaccines is available. Data on other coronaviruses after natural infection suggest that immunity to SARS-CoV-2 might be short lived,3,4 and preliminary evidence indicates waning antibody titers following SARS-CoV-2 infection.5 Here we model the relationship between immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a series of Ad26 vectors encoding stabilized variants of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein in rhesus macaques6,7,8 and validate the analyses by challenging macaques 6 months after immunization with the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine candidate that has been selected for clinical development. We find that Ad26.COV2.S confers durable protection against replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs that is predicted by the levels of S-binding and neutralizing antibodies. These results suggest that Ad26.COV2.S could confer durable protection in humans and that immunological correlates of protection may enable the prediction of durability of protection.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Sullivan ◽  
Po-yu Sung ◽  
Weining Wu ◽  
Neil Berry ◽  
Sarah Kempster ◽  
...  

The Covid-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection has highlighted the need for the rapid generation of efficient vaccines for emerging disease. Virus-like particles, VLPs, are an established vaccine technology that produces virus-like mimics, based on expression of the structural proteins of a target virus that can stimulate strong neutralizing antibody responses. SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus where the basis of VLP formation has been shown to be the co-expression of the spike, membrane and envelope structural proteins. Here we describe the generation of SARS-CoV-2 VLPs by the co expression of the salient structural proteins in insect cells using the established baculovirus expression system. VLPs were heterologous ~100nm diameter enveloped particles with a distinct fringe that reacted strongly with SARS-CoV-2 convalescent sera. In a Syrian hamster challenge model, a non adjuvanted VLPs induced neutralizing antibodies to the VLP-associated Wuhan S protein, reduced virus shedding following a virulent challenge with SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.1.7 variant) and protected against disease associated weight loss. Immunized animals showed reduced lung pathology and lower challenge virus replication than the non-immunized controls. Our data, using an established and scalable technology, suggest SARS-CoV-2 VLPs offer an efficient vaccine that mitigates against virus load and prevents severe disease.


npj Vaccines ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa H. Tostanoski ◽  
Abishek Chandrashekar ◽  
Shivani Patel ◽  
Jingyou Yu ◽  
Catherine Jacob-Dolan ◽  
...  

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific binding and neutralizing antibodies, elicited either by natural infection or vaccination, have emerged as potential correlates of protection. An important question, however, is whether vaccine-elicited antibodies in humans provide direct, functional protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease. In this study, we explored directly the protective efficacy of human antibodies elicited by Ad26.COV2.S vaccination by adoptive transfer studies. IgG from plasma of Ad26.COV2.S vaccinated individuals was purified and transferred into naïve golden Syrian hamster recipients, followed by intra-nasal challenge of the hamsters with SARS-CoV-2. IgG purified from Ad26.COV2.S-vaccinated individuals provided dose-dependent protection in the recipient hamsters from weight loss following challenge. In contrast, IgG purified from placebo recipients provided no protection in this adoptive transfer model. Attenuation of weight loss correlated with binding and neutralizing antibody titers of the passively transferred IgG. This study suggests that Ad26.COV2.S-elicited antibodies in humans are mechanistically involved in protection against SARS-CoV-2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Henning ◽  
Kathrin Endt ◽  
Robin Steigerwald ◽  
Michael Anderson ◽  
Ariane Volkmann

Venezuelan, eastern and western equine encephalitis viruses (EEV) can cause severe disease of the central nervous system in humans, potentially leading to permanent damage or death. Yet, no licensed vaccine for human use is available to protect against these mosquito-borne pathogens, which can be aerosolized and therefore pose a bioterror threat in addition to the risk of natural outbreaks. Using the mouse aerosol challenge model, we evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of EEV vaccines that are based on the modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN®) vaccine platform: three monovalent vaccines expressing the envelope polyproteins E3-E2-6K-E1 of the respective EEV virus, a mixture of these three monovalent EEV vaccines (Triple-Mix) as a first approach to generate a multivalent vaccine, and a true multivalent alphavirus vaccine (MVA-WEV, Trivalent) encoding the polyproteins of all three EEVs in a single non-replicating MVA viral vector. BALB/c mice were vaccinated twice in a four-week interval and samples were assessed for humoral and cellular immunogenicity. Two weeks after the second immunization, animals were exposed to aerosolized EEV. The majority of vaccinated animals exhibited VEEV, WEEV, and EEEV neutralizing antibodies two weeks post-second administration, whereby the average VEEV neutralizing antibodies induced by the monovalent and Trivalent vaccine were significantly higher compared to the Triple-Mix vaccine. The same statistical difference was observed for VEEV E1 specific T cell responses. However, all vaccinated mice developed comparable interferon gamma T cell responses to the VEEV E2 peptide pools. Complete protective efficacy as evaluated by the prevention of mortality and morbidity, lack of clinical signs and viremia, was demonstrated for the respective monovalent MVA-EEV vaccines, the Triple-Mix and the Trivalent single vector vaccine not only in the homologous VEEV Trinidad Donkey challenge model, but also against heterologous VEEV INH-9813, WEEV Fleming, and EEEV V105-00210 inhalational exposures. These EEV vaccines, based on the safe MVA vector platform, therefore represent promising human vaccine candidates. The trivalent MVA-WEV construct, which encodes antigens of all three EEVs in a single vector and can potentially protect against all three encephalitic viruses, is currently being evaluated in a human Phase 1 trial.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon Roozendaal ◽  
Laura Solforosi ◽  
Daniel J. Stieh ◽  
Jan Serroyen ◽  
Roel Straetemans ◽  
...  

AbstractSeveral COVID-19 vaccines have recently gained authorization for emergency use. Limited knowledge on duration of immunity and efficacy of these vaccines is currently available. Data on other coronaviruses after natural infection suggest that immunity to SARS-CoV-2 might be short-lived, and preliminary evidence indicates waning antibody titers following SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this work, we model the relationship between immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a series of Ad26 vectors encoding stabilized variants of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein in rhesus macaques and validate the analyses by challenging macaques 6 months after immunization with the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine candidate that has been selected for clinical development. We show that Ad26.COV2.S confers durable protection against replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs that is predicted by the levels of Spike-binding and neutralizing antibodies, indicating that Ad26.COV2.S could confer durable protection in humans and immunological correlates of protection may enable the prediction of durability of protection.


npj Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Brocato ◽  
Steven A. Kwilas ◽  
Robert K. Kim ◽  
Xiankun Zeng ◽  
Lucia M. Principe ◽  
...  

AbstractA worldwide effort to counter the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in hundreds of candidate vaccines moving through various stages of research and development, including several vaccines in phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials. A relatively small number of these vaccines have been evaluated in SARS-CoV-2 disease models, and fewer in a severe disease model. Here, a SARS-CoV-2 DNA targeting the spike protein and delivered by jet injection, nCoV-S(JET), elicited neutralizing antibodies in hamsters and was protective in both wild-type and transiently immunosuppressed hamster models. This study highlights the DNA vaccine, nCoV-S(JET), we developed has a great potential to move to next stage of preclinical studies, and it also demonstrates that the transiently-immunosuppressed Syrian hamsters, which recapitulate severe and prolonged COVID-19 disease, can be used for preclinical evaluation of the protective efficacy of spike-based COVID-19 vaccines.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 628
Author(s):  
Aeron C. Hurt ◽  
Adam K. Wheatley

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant global public health burden, leading to an urgent need for effective therapeutic strategies. In this article, we review the role of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in the clinical management of COVID-19 and provide an overview of recent randomized controlled trial data evaluating nAbs in the ambulatory, hospitalized and prophylaxis settings. Two nAb cocktails (casirivimab/imdevimab and bamlanivimab/etesevimab) and one nAb monotherapy (bamlanivimab) have been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ambulatory patients who have a high risk of progressing to severe disease, and the European Medicines Agency has similarly recommended both cocktails and bamlanivimab monotherapy for use in COVID-19 patients who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. Efficacy of nAbs in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 has been varied, potentially highlighting the challenges of antiviral treatment in patients who have already progressed to severe disease. However, early data suggest a promising prophylactic role for nAbs in providing effective COVID-19 protection. We also review the risk of treatment-emergent antiviral resistant “escape” mutants and strategies to minimize their occurrence, discuss the susceptibility of newly emerging SARS-COV-2 variants to nAbs, as well as explore administration challenges and ways to improve patient access.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanda Kishore Routhu ◽  
Narayanaiah Cheedarla ◽  
Venkata Satish Bollimpelli ◽  
Sailaja Gangadhara ◽  
Venkata Viswanadh Edara ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is a great need for the development of vaccines that induce potent and long-lasting protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Multimeric display of the antigen combined with potent adjuvant can enhance the potency and longevity of the antibody response. The receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein is a primary target of neutralizing antibodies. Here, we developed a trimeric form of the RBD and show that it induces a potent neutralizing antibody response against live virus with diverse effector functions and provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in mice and rhesus macaques. The trimeric form induces higher neutralizing antibody titer compared to monomer with as low as 1μg antigen dose. In mice, adjuvanting the protein with a TLR7/8 agonist formulation alum-3M-052 induces 100-fold higher neutralizing antibody titer and superior protection from infection compared to alum. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes significant loss of innate cells and pathology in the lung, and vaccination protects from changes in innate cells and lung pathology. These results demonstrate RBD trimer protein as a suitable candidate for vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Zekun Mu ◽  
Barton F. Haynes ◽  
Derek W. Cain

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic introduced the world to a new type of vaccine based on mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Instead of delivering antigenic proteins directly, an mRNA-based vaccine relies on the host’s cells to manufacture protein immunogens which, in turn, are targets for antibody and cytotoxic T cell responses. mRNA-based vaccines have been the subject of research for over three decades as a platform to protect against or treat a variety of cancers, amyloidosis and infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss mRNA-based approaches for the generation of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines to HIV. We examine the special immunological hurdles for a vaccine to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies and effective T cell responses to HIV. Lastly, we outline an mRNA-based HIV vaccination strategy based on the immunobiology of broadly neutralizing antibody development.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Hulda R. Jonsdottir ◽  
Michel Bielecki ◽  
Denise Siegrist ◽  
Thomas W. Buehrer ◽  
Roland Züst ◽  
...  

Neutralizing antibodies are an important part of the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2. It is currently unclear to what extent such antibodies are produced after non-severe disease or asymptomatic infection. We studied a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections among a homogeneous population of 332 predominantly male Swiss soldiers and determined the neutralizing antibody response with a serum neutralization assay using a recombinant SARS-CoV-2-GFP. All patients with non-severe COVID-19 showed a swift humoral response within two weeks after the onset of symptoms, which remained stable for the duration of the study. One month after the outbreak, titers in COVID-19 convalescents did not differ from the titers of asymptomatically infected individuals. Furthermore, symptoms of COVID-19 did not correlate with neutralizing antibody titers. Therefore, we conclude that asymptomatic infection can induce the same humoral immunity as non-severe COVID-19 in young adults.


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