期刊
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
卷 23, 期 24, 页码 -出版社
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415744
关键词
disulfide bond; oxidative refolding; subunit antigen; Escherichia coli expression; immunogenicity; cell surface markers; pseudovirus neutralization
资金
- JSPS
- [KAKENHI-15H04359]
- [18H02385]
This study evaluated the potential of Escherichia coli-expressed receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 as an antigen candidate for a subunit vaccine. The expressed RBD exhibited native-like structure and biophysical properties, and effectively elicited the production of neutralizing antibodies. Additionally, immunization with the E. coli-expressed RBD induced sustained antibody levels and generated multifunctional T cells.
A large-scale Escherichia coli (E. coli) production of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 could yield a versatile and low-cost antigen for a subunit vaccine. Appropriately folded antigens can potentially elicit the production of neutralizing antisera providing immune protection against the virus. However, E. coli expression using a standard protocol produces RBDs with aberrant disulfide bonds among the RBD's eight cysteines resulting in the expression of insoluble and non-native RBDs. Here, we evaluate whether E. coli expressing RBD can be used as an antigen candidate for a subunit vaccine. The expressed RBD exhibited native-like structural and biophysical properties as demonstrated by analytical RP-HPLC, circular dichroism, fluorescence, and light scattering. In addition, our E. coli expressed RBD binds to hACE2, the host cell's receptor, with a binding constant of 7.9 x 10(-9) M, as indicated by biolayer interferometry analysis. Our E. coli-produced RBD elicited a high IgG titer in Jcl:ICR mice, and the RBD antisera inhibited viral growth, as demonstrated by a pseudovirus-based neutralization assay. Moreover, the increased antibody level was sustained for over 15 weeks after immunization, and a high percentage of effector and central memory T cells were generated. Overall, these results show that E. coli-expressed RBDs can elicit the production of neutralizing antisera and could potentially serve as an antigen for developing an anti-SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine.
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