iScience (Mar 2023)
Preclinical evaluation of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on a recombinant RBD fusion heterodimer of SARS-CoV-2
- Antonio Barreiro,
- Antoni Prenafeta,
- Gregori Bech-Sabat,
- Mercè Roca,
- Eva Perozo Mur,
- Ricard March,
- Luis González-González,
- Laia Madrenas,
- Júlia Corominas,
- Alex Fernández,
- Alexandra Moros,
- Manuel Cañete,
- Mercè Molas,
- Thais Pentinat-Pelegrin,
- Clara Panosa,
- Alberto Moreno,
- Ester Puigvert Molas,
- Eva Pol Vilarrassa,
- Jordi Palmada,
- Carme Garriga,
- Teresa Prat Cabañas,
- Javier Iglesias-Fernández,
- Júlia Vergara-Alert,
- Cristina Lorca-Oró,
- Núria Roca,
- Leira Fernández-Bastit,
- Jordi Rodon,
- Mònica Pérez,
- Joaquim Segalés,
- Edwards Pradenas,
- Silvia Marfil,
- Benjamin Trinité,
- Raquel Ortiz,
- Bonaventura Clotet,
- Julià Blanco,
- Jorge Díaz Pedroza,
- Rosa Ampudia Carrasco,
- Yaiza Rosales Salgado,
- Jordina Loubat-Casanovas,
- Sara Capdevila Larripa,
- Julia Garcia Prado,
- Jordi Barretina,
- Marta Sisteré-Oró,
- Paula Cebollada Rica,
- Andreas Meyerhans,
- Laura Ferrer
Affiliations
- Antonio Barreiro
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain; Corresponding author
- Antoni Prenafeta
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain; Corresponding author
- Gregori Bech-Sabat
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Mercè Roca
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Eva Perozo Mur
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Ricard March
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Luis González-González
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Laia Madrenas
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Júlia Corominas
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Alex Fernández
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Alexandra Moros
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Manuel Cañete
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Mercè Molas
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Thais Pentinat-Pelegrin
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Clara Panosa
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Alberto Moreno
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Ester Puigvert Molas
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Eva Pol Vilarrassa
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Jordi Palmada
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Carme Garriga
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Teresa Prat Cabañas
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Javier Iglesias-Fernández
- Nostrum Biodiscovery, Avenue de Josep Tarradellas, 8-10, 3-2, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
- Júlia Vergara-Alert
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Cristina Lorca-Oró
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Núria Roca
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Leira Fernández-Bastit
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Jordi Rodon
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Mònica Pérez
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Joaquim Segalés
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CReSA (IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Edwards Pradenas
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Silvia Marfil
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Benjamin Trinité
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Raquel Ortiz
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Bonaventura Clotet
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain; University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, 08500 Catalonia, Spain
- Julià Blanco
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain; University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, 08500 Catalonia, Spain
- Jorge Díaz Pedroza
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Rosa Ampudia Carrasco
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Yaiza Rosales Salgado
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Jordina Loubat-Casanovas
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Sara Capdevila Larripa
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Julia Garcia Prado
- IrsiCaixa. AIDS Research Institute, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, UAB, 08916 Badalona, Spain; Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Jordi Barretina
- Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (CMCiB-IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Marta Sisteré-Oró
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Paula Cebollada Rica
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Andreas Meyerhans
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- Laura Ferrer
- HIPRA, Avda. La Selva, 135, Amer, 17170 Girona, Spain
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 26,
no. 3
p. 106126
Abstract
Summary: Current COVID-19 vaccines have been associated with a decline in infection rates, prevention of severe disease, and a decrease in mortality rates. However, SARS-CoV-2 variants are continuously evolving, and development of new accessible COVID-19 vaccines is essential to mitigate the pandemic. Here, we present data on preclinical studies in mice of a receptor-binding domain (RBD)-based recombinant protein vaccine (PHH-1V) consisting of an RBD fusion heterodimer comprising the B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variants formulated in SQBA adjuvant, an oil-in-water emulsion. A prime-boost immunisation with PHH-1V in BALB/c and K18-hACE2 mice induced a CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response and RBD-binding antibodies with neutralizing activity against several variants, and also showed a good tolerability profile. Significantly, RBD fusion heterodimer vaccination conferred 100% efficacy, preventing mortality in SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 mice, but also reducing Beta, Delta and Omicron infection in lower respiratory airways. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of this recombinant vaccine strategy.
