LP-Based COVID-19 Vaccines: An Adaptable Technology against the Threat of New Variant

Author(s):Show less -

Prates-Syed, Wasim A. ^{[1, 2]} ; Chaves, Lorena C. S. ^[3] ; Crema, Karin P. ^{[1, 2]} ; Vuitika, Larissa ^[1] ; Lira, Aline ^{[1, 2]} ; Cortes, Nelson ^{[1, 2]} ; Kersten, Victor ^[1] ; Guimaraes, Francisco E. G. ^[4] ; Sadraeian, Mohammad ^{[4, 5]} ; Barroso da Silva, Fernando L. ^{[6, 7]} ; Cabral-Marques, Otavio ^{[8, 1, 9]} ; Barbuto, Jose A. M. ^{[1, 10]} ; Russo, Momtchilo ^[1] ; Camara, Niels O. S. ^[1] ; Cabral-Miranda, Gustavo ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo ICB USP, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Immunol, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Inst Res & Educ Child Hlth PENSI, BR-01228200 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Emory Univ, Sch Med, Dept Microbiol & Immunol, Claudia Nance Rollins Bldg, Atlanta, GA 30329 - USA

^[4] IFSC USP, Sao Carlos Inst Phys, BR-13566590 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Technol, Inst Biomed Mat & Devices IBMD, Fac Sci, Sydney, NSW 2007 - Australia

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Pharmaceut Sci Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biomol Sci, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[7] North Carolina State Univ, Dept Chem & Biomol Engeneering, Raleigh, NC 27695 - USA

^[8] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Pharmaceut Sci, Dept Clin & Toxicol Anal, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[9] Univ Sci Educ & Res Network USERN, Childrens Med Ctr, Network Immun Infect, Malignancy & Autoimmun NIIMA, Tehran 1419733151 - Iran

^[10] Univ Sao Paulo, Hosp Clin HCFMUSP, Dept Hematol, Lab Med Invest Pathogenesis & Targeted Therap Onc, BR-0124690 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: VACCINES; v. 9, n. 12 DEC 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a versatile, safe, and highly immunogenic vaccine platform. Recently, there are developmental vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic affected humanity worldwide, bringing out incomputable human and financial losses. The race for better, more efficacious vaccines is happening almost simultaneously as the virus increasingly produces variants of concern (VOCs). The VOCs Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta share common mutations mainly in the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD), demonstrating convergent evolution, associated with increased transmissibility and immune evasion. Thus, the identification and understanding of these mutations is crucial for the production of new, optimized vaccines. The use of a very flexible vaccine platform in COVID-19 vaccine development is an important feature that cannot be ignored. Incorporating the spike protein and its variations into VLP vaccines is a desirable strategy as the morphology and size of VLPs allows for better presentation of several different antigens. Furthermore, VLPs elicit robust humoral and cellular immune responses, which are safe, and have been studied not only against SARS-CoV-2 but against other coronaviruses as well. Here, we describe the recent advances and improvements in vaccine development using VLP technology. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 20/05146-7 - Development of vaccine anti-SARS-CoV-2 based on VLPs
• Grantee: Gustavo Cabral de Miranda
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 20/07158-2 - Developing and applying computer simulation methods to enhance the molecular understanding to engineer functionalized biomaterials
• Grantee: Fernando Luis Barroso da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/10910-5 - Production and Characterization of Novel Photoimmunoconjugates for HIV Photoimmunotherapy
• Grantee: Mohammad Sadraeian
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/14526-0 - Development of vaccines against Streptococcus pyogenes and Chikungunya Virus based on virus like particles
• Grantee: Gustavo Cabral de Miranda
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants