Archive | 2021
Development and Preclinical Evaluation of Virus Like Particle Vaccine Against COVID-19 Infection
Abstract
Background\xa0Vaccines that incorporate multiple SARS-CoV-2\nantigens can further broaden the breadth of virus-specific cellular and\nhumoral immunity. This study describes the development and\nimmunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 VLP vaccine that incorporates the 4\nstructural proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Methods VLPs were generated\nin transiently transfected HEK293 cells, purified by multimodal\nchromatography and characterized by tunable resistive pulse sensing,\nAFM, SEM, and TEM. Immunoblotting studies verified the protein\nidentities of VLPs. Cellular and humoral immune responses of immunized\nanimals demonstrated the immune potency of the formulated VLP vaccine.\nResults Transiently transfected HEK293 cells reproducibly\ngenerated vesicular VLPs that were similar in size to and expressing all\nfour structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Alum adsorbed, K3-CpG ODN\nadjuvanted VLPs elicited high titer anti-S, anti-RBD, anti-N IgG,\ntriggered multifunctional Th1 biased T cell responses, reduced virus\nload and prevented lung pathology upon live virus challenge in\nvaccinated animals. Conclusion These data suggest that VLPs\nexpressing all four structural protein antigens of SARS-CoV-2 are\nimmunogenic and can protect animals from developing COVID-19 infection\nfollowing vaccination.