Article
作者: Balke, Ina ; Vogt, Anne‐Cathrine S. ; Chang, Xinyue ; Nonic, Aleksandra ; Vedovi, Fabio ; Manenti, Alessandro ; Montomoli, Emanuele ; Walton, Senta M. ; Bachmann, Martin F. ; Zeltins, Andris ; Rothen, Dominik A. ; Mohsen, Mona O. ; Krenger, Pascal S. ; Vogel, Monique ; Resevica, Gunta
Background:The highly contagious SARS‐CoV‐2 is mainly transmitted by respiratory droplets and aerosols. Consequently, people are required to wear masks and maintain a social distance to avoid spreading of the virus. Despite the success of the commercially available vaccines, the virus is still uncontained globally. Given the tropism of SARS‐CoV‐2, a mucosal immune reaction would help to reduce viral shedding and transmission locally. Only seven out of hundreds of ongoing clinical trials are testing the intranasal delivery of a vaccine against COVID‐19.
Methods:In the current study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of a traditional vaccine platform based on virus‐like particles (VLPs) displaying RBD of SARS‐CoV‐2 for intranasal administration in a murine model. The candidate vaccine platform, CuMVTT‐RBD, has been optimized to incorporate a universal T helper cell epitope derived from tetanus‐toxin and is self‐adjuvanted with TLR7/8 ligands.
Results:CuMVTT‐RBD vaccine elicited a strong systemic RBD‐ and spike‐IgG and IgA antibodies of high avidity. Local immune response was assessed, and our results demonstrate a strong mucosal antibody and plasma cell production in lung tissue. Furthermore, the induced systemic antibodies could efficiently recognize and neutralize different variants of concern (VOCs).
Conclusion:Our data demonstrate that intranasal administration of CuMVTT‐RBD induces a protective systemic and local specific antibody response against SARS‐CoV‐2 and its VOCs.
