Browsing by keyword "spike glycoprotein"

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    • A Novel DNA and Protein Combination COVID-19 Vaccine Formulation Provides Full Protection against SARS-CoV-2 in Rhesus Macaques
      Li, Yuzhong; Hu, Guangnan; Wang, Shixia; Li, Qihan; Lu, Shan; Cun, Wei (2021-02-08)
      The current study aims to develop a safe and highly immunogenic COVID-19 vaccine. The novel combination of a DNA vaccine encoding the full-length Spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 and a recombinant S1 protein vaccine induced high level neutralizing antibody and T cell immune responses in both small and large animal models. More significantly, the co-delivery of DNA and protein components at the same time elicited full protection against intratracheal challenge of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in immunized rhesus macaques. As both DNA and protein vaccines have been proven safe in previous human studies, and DNA vaccines are capable of eliciting germinal center B cell development, which is critical for high -affinity memory B cell responses, the DNA and protein co-delivery vaccine approach has great potential to serve as a safe and effective approach to develop COVID-19 vaccines that provide long-term protection.

    • Identification of T Cell Epitopes in the Spike Glycoprotein of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Rhesus Macaques
      Liu, Xiaojuan; Li, Yuzhong; Xiao, Hongjian; Bi, Yanwei; Gong, Yue; Hu, Zhengrong R.; Zeng, Yaxin; Sun, Ming; He, Zhanlong L.; Lu, Shan; et al. (2021-05-12)
      The T cell response is an important detection index in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine development. The present study was undertaken to determine the T cell epitopes in the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 that dominate the T cell responses in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. PBMCs from rhesus macaques vaccinated with a DNA vaccine encoding the full-length S protein were isolated, and an ELISPOT assay was used to identify the recognized T cell epitopes among a total of 158 18-mer and 10-aa-overlapping peptides spanning the full-length S protein. Six multipeptide-based epitopes located in the S1 region, with four of the six located in the receptor-binding domain, were defined as the most frequently recognized epitopes in macaques. The conservation of the epitopes across species was also verified, and peptide mixtures for T cell response detection were established. Six newly defined T cell epitopes were found in the current study, which may provide a novel potential target for T cell response detection and the diagnosis and vaccine design of SARS-CoV-2 based on multipeptide subunit-based epitopes.