GSK, Siena, Italy.
The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
Glycoconj J. 2021 Aug;38(4):447-457. doi: 10.1007/s10719-021-10000-4. Epub 2021 May 6.
The capsular polysaccharide of the human pathogen Group B Streptococcus is a key virulence factor and vaccine candidate that induces protective antibodies when conjugated to carrier proteins. It consists of long polymeric chains of oligosaccharide repeating units, and each of the ten capsular serotypes described so far presents a unique chemical structure with distinct antigenic properties; therefore, broad protection against this pathogen could be achieved by a combination of ten glycoconjugates. Capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis and assembly follow a polymerase-dependent pathway that is widespread in encapsulated bacteria and is encoded by a polycistronic operon. Here we exploited the sequence similarity between the capsule operons of types V and IX to generate hybrid polysaccharides incorporating epitopes of both serotypes in a single molecule, by co-expressing their specific CpsM, O, I glycosyltransferases in a single isolate. Physicochemical and immunochemical methods confirmed that an engineered strain produced a high molecular weight chimeric polysaccharide, combining antigenic specificities of both type V and IX. By optimizing the copy number of key glycosyltransferase genes, we were able to modulate the ratio between type-specific epitopes. Finally, vaccination with chimeric glycoconjugates significantly decreased the incidence of disease in pups born from immunized mice challenged with either serotype. This study provides proof of concept for a new generation of glycoconjugate vaccines that combine the antigenic specificity of different polysaccharide variants in a single molecule, eliciting a protective immune response against multiple serotype variants.
人类病原体 B 群链球菌的荚膜多糖是一种关键的毒力因子和疫苗候选物,当与载体蛋白结合时,会诱导保护性抗体。它由长链寡糖重复单元组成,迄今为止描述的十种荚膜血清型都具有独特的化学结构和不同的抗原特性;因此,通过十种糖缀合物的组合,可以实现对这种病原体的广泛保护。荚膜多糖的生物合成和组装遵循一种依赖聚合酶的途径,这种途径在囊泡细菌中广泛存在,由一个多顺反子操纵子编码。在这里,我们利用荚膜操纵子 V 型和 IX 型之间的序列相似性,通过在单个分离物中共同表达它们特定的 CpsM、O、I 糖基转移酶,生成了一种包含两种血清型表位的杂合多糖。物理化学和免疫化学方法证实,工程菌株产生了一种高分子量的嵌合多糖,将两种血清型的抗原特异性结合在一个分子中。通过优化关键糖基转移酶基因的拷贝数,我们能够调节两种血清型特异性表位之间的比例。最后,用嵌合糖缀合物进行免疫接种,显著降低了免疫小鼠在受到两种血清型攻击时所生幼鼠的疾病发生率。这项研究为新一代糖缀合物疫苗提供了概念验证,这些疫苗将不同多糖变体的抗原特异性结合在一个分子中,引发针对多种血清型变体的保护性免疫反应。