Frontiers in Microbiology (Jan 2023)

A bivalent subunit vaccine efficiently produced in Pichia pastoris against SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants

  • Huifang Xu,
  • Tiantian Wang,
  • Peng Sun,
  • Xuchen Hou,
  • Xin Gong,
  • Bin Zhang,
  • Jun Wu,
  • Bo Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1093080
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type II (SARS-CoV-2) variants have led to a decline in the protection of existing vaccines and antibodies, and there is an urgent need for a broad-spectrum vaccination strategy to reduce the pressure on the prevention and control of the pandemic. In this study, the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant was successfully expressed through a glycoengineered yeast platform. To pursue a more broad-spectrum vaccination strategy, RBD-Beta and RBD-wild type were mixed at the ratio of 1:1 with Al(OH)3 and CpG double adjuvants for the immunization of BALB/c mice. This bivalent vaccine stimulated robust conjugated antibody titers and a broader spectrum of neutralizing antibody titers. These results suggested that a bivalent vaccine of RBD-Beta and RBD-wild type could be a possible broad-spectrum vaccination strategy.

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