Influenza virus-like particle-based hybrid vaccine containing RBD induces immunity against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses

Bommireddy, R.; Stone, S.; Bhatnagar, N.; Kumari, P.; Munoz, L. E.; Oh, J.; Kim, K.-H.; Berry, J. T.; Jacobsen, K.; Lahcen, J.; Naing, S.-H.; Blackerby, A. N.; Gaag, T. V. d.; Wright, C. N.; Lai, L.; Pack, C. D.; Ramachandiran, S.; Suthar, M. S.; Kang, S.-M.; Kumar, M.; Reddy, S. J.; Selvaraj, P.

doi:10.1101/2022.02.01.478657

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.02.01.478657

Influenza virus-like particle-based hybrid vaccine containing RBD induces immunity against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses

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Abstract

Several approaches have produced an effective vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, the influence of immune responses induced by other vaccinations on the durability and efficacy of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is still unknown. We have developed a hybrid vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses using influenza virus-like particles (VLP) incorporated by protein transfer with glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored SARS-CoV-2 S1 RBD fused to GM-CSF as an adjuvant. GPI-RBD-GM-CSF fusion protein was expressed in CHO-S cells, purified and incorporated onto influenza VLPs to develop the hybrid vaccine. Our results show that the hybrid vaccine induced a strong antibody response and protected mice from both influenza virus and mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 challenges, with vaccinated mice having significantly lower lung viral titers compared to naive mice. These results suggest that the hybrid vaccine strategy is a promising approach for developing multivalent vaccines to prevent influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 infections.

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Bommireddy, R., Stone, S., Bhatnagar, N., Kumari, P., Munoz, L. E., Oh, J., Kim, K.-H., Berry, J. T., Jacobsen, K., Lahcen, J., Naing, S.-H., Blackerby, A. N., Gaag, T. V. d., Wright, C. N., Lai, L., Pack, C. D., Ramachandiran, S., Suthar, M. S., Kang, S.-M., Kumar, M., Reddy, S. J., Selvaraj, P.. 2022-02-01. Influenza virus-like particle-based hybrid vaccine containing RBD induces immunity against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.01.478657

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