Salazar Vivian A, Comenge Joan, Suárez-López Rosa, Burger Judith A, Sanders Rogier W, Bastús Neus G, Jaime Carlos, Joseph-Munne Joan, Puntes Victor
Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Networking Research Centre for Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Vaccines (Basel). 2024 Jul 23;12(8):829. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12080829.
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) decorated with antigens have recently emerged as promising tools for vaccine development due to their innate ability to provide stability to antigens and modulate immune responses. In this study, we have engineered deactivated virus-like particles (VLPs) by precisely functionalizing gold cores with coronas comprising the full SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S). Using BALB/c mice as a model, we investigated the immunogenicity of these S-AuNPs-VLPs. Our results demonstrate that S-AuNPs-VLPs consistently enhanced antigen-specific antibody responses compared to the S protein free in solution. This enhancement included higher binding antibody titers, higher neutralizing capacity of antibodies, and stronger T-cell responses. Compared to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, where the S protein is synthesized in situ, S-AuNPs-VLPs induced comparable binding and neutralizing antibody responses, but substantially superior T-cell responses. In conclusion, our study highlights the potential of conjugated AuNPs as an effective antigen-delivery system for protein-based vaccines targeting a broad spectrum of infectious diseases and other emergent viruses.
由于金纳米颗粒（AuNPs）具有稳定抗原和调节免疫反应的固有能力，最近用抗原修饰的金纳米颗粒已成为疫苗开发中很有前景的工具。在本研究中，我们通过用包含完整严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）刺突蛋白（S）的冠精确功能化金核，设计出了失活的病毒样颗粒（VLPs）。以BALB/c小鼠为模型，我们研究了这些S-AuNPs-VLPs的免疫原性。我们的结果表明，与溶液中游离的S蛋白相比，S-AuNPs-VLPs持续增强了抗原特异性抗体反应。这种增强包括更高的结合抗体滴度、更高的抗体中和能力以及更强的T细胞反应。与在原位合成S蛋白的mRNA新冠疫苗相比，S-AuNPs-VLPs诱导出了相当的结合和中和抗体反应，但T细胞反应则显著更优。总之，我们的研究突出了偶联AuNPs作为一种有效的抗原递送系统的潜力，可用于针对广泛传染病和其他新兴病毒的基于蛋白质的疫苗。
