Development os SAPN nanovaccines against SARS-CoV-2 using S and N as antigens

• Grant number: 20/10700-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2020
• End date: October 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Luis Carlos de Souza Ferreira
• Grantee: Marianna Teixeira de Pinho Favaro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/05204-7 - Development of SARS-CoV-2 auto-assembly protein-based nanovaccines, AP.R
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/08528-0 - A novel nanoparticle-based vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 assembled on a nanomimetic amyloid for controlled antigen release, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemics has infected 20 million people worldwide in seven months and demands immediate and accurate efforts to prevent its spread. The subunit vaccines proposed in this project will employ the SAPN technology (self-assembling protein nanoparticles) and are formulated with highly immunogenic fragments of structural proteins, particularly S and N (Spike and Nucleocapsid, respectively). The nanovaccines resulting from this design will be produced in E. coli and purified with a combination of chromatographic techniques, and once obtained, will be optimized regarding stability and size. Then, the nanovaccines will be administered to C57BL6 mice using different inoculation routes (intramuscular and subcutaneous), to be further evaluated regarding the immune responses induced. Antibody quantification will be performed with ELISA, and PRNT will be performed to validate the neutralizing capacity of antibodies, which will allow moving further to challenge animals susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. The postdoctoral researcher will be responsible for developing and optimizing the nanovaccines, assuring the quality control and proper characterization of the nanovaccines, and conducting in vivo immunizations to assess the antibody responses. The results obtained in this project may significantly contribute to the generation of new vaccine antigens against COVID-19, but also to the development of a new nanovaccines strategy with potential to be widely applied.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RODRIGUES-JESUS, MONICA JOSIANE; FAVARO, MARIANNA TEIXEIRA DE PINHO; VENCESLAU-CARVALHO, ALEXIA ADRIANNE; DE CASTRO-AMARANTE, MARIA FERNANDA; ALMEIDA, BIANCA DA SILVA; SILVA, MARIANGELA DE OLIVEIRA; ANDREATA-SANTOS, ROBERT; BARBOSA, CECILIA GOMES; BRITO, SAMANTHA CARVALHO MAIA; FREITAS-JUNIOR, LUCIO H.; et al. Nano-multilamellar lipid vesicles promote the induction of SARS-CoV-2 immune responses by a protein-based vaccine formulation. Nanomedicine-Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine, v. 45, p. 11-pg., 2022-08-31. (20/10700-3, 20/08943-5, 16/23560-0, 20/05204-7, 21/05661-1)

ANDREATA-SANTOS, ROBERT; MACHADO, RAFAEL RAHAL GUARAGNA; DOS SANTOS ALVES, RUBENS PRINCE; SALES, NATIELY SILVA; SOARES, CAMILA PEREIRA; RODRIGUES, KARINE BITENCOURT; SILVA, MARIANGELA OLIVEIRA; FAVARO, MARIANNA TEIXEIRA DE PINHO; RODRIGUES-JESUS, MONICA JOSIANE; YAMAMOTO, MARCIO MASSAO; et al. Validation of Serological Methods for COVID-19 and Retrospective Screening of Health Employees and Visitors to the Sao Paulo University Hospital, Brazil. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY, v. 12, p. 8-pg., 2022-06-02. (20/08943-5, 16/20045-7, 21/05661-1, 14/50890-5, 16/23560-0, 15/02352-7, 20/06409-1, 17/24769-2, 16/14344-1, 18/23680-0, 20/10700-3, 18/07629-5, 18/07142-9)