학술논문
Expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain by live attenuated influenza vaccine virus as a strategy for designing a bivalent vaccine against COVID-19 and influenza.
Document Type
Article
Author
Stepanova, Ekaterina; Isakova-Sivak, Irina; Mezhenskaya, Daria; Niskanen, Sergei; Matyushenko, Victoria; Bazhenova, Ekaterina; Rak, Alexandra; Wong, Pei Fong; Prokopenko, Polina; Kotomina, Tatiana; Krutikova, Elena; Legotskiy, Sergei; Neterebskii, Bogdan; Ostroukhova, Tatiana; Sivak, Konstantin; Orshanskaya, Yana; Yakovlev, Kirill; Rudenko, Larisa
Source
Subject
*GOLDEN hamster
*INFLUENZA
*SARS-CoV-2
*RECOMBINANT viruses
*COVID-19 vaccines
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Language
ISSN
1743-422X
Abstract
Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are two major respiratory pathogens that cocirculate in humans and cause serious illness with the potential to exacerbate disease in the event of co-infection. To develop a bivalent vaccine, capable of protecting against both infections, we inserted the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into hemagglutinin (HA) molecule or into the open reading frame of the truncated nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) virus and assessed phenotypic characteristics of the rescued LAIV-RBD viruses, as well as their immunogenicity in mouse and Syrian hamster animal models. A panel of 9 recombinant LAIV-RBD viruses was rescued using the A/Leningrad/17 backbone. Notably, only two variants with RBD insertions into the HA molecule could express sufficient quantities of RBD protein in infected MDCK cells. Intranasal immunization of mice induced high levels of anti-influenza antibody responses in all chimeric LAIV-RBD viruses, which was comparable to the LAIV virus vector. The RBD-specific antibody responses were most pronounced in the variant expressing RBD194 fragment as a chimeric HA protein. This candidate was further tested in Syrian hamsters and was shown to be immunogenic and capable of protecting animals against both infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]