RESUMO
Due to the high affinity and specificity of antibodies toward antigens, various antibody-based applications have been developed. Recently, variable antigen-binding domains of heavy-chain antibodies (VHH) have become an attractive alternative to conventional fragment antibodies due to their unique molecular characteristics. As an antibody-generating strategy, synthetic VHH libraries (including humanized VHH libraries) have been developed using distinct strategies to constrain the diversity of amino acid sequences. In this study, we designed and constructed several novel synthetic humanized VHH libraries based on biophysical analyses conducted using the complementarity determining region-grafting method and comprehensive sequence analyses of VHHs deposited in the protein data bank. We obtained VHHs from the libraries, and hit clones exhibited considerable thermal stability. We also found that VHHs from distinct libraries tended to have different epitopes. Based on our results, we propose a strategy for generating humanized VHHs with distinct epitopes toward various antigens by utilizing our library combinations.
Assuntos
Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade , Biblioteca de Peptídeos , Humanos , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/química , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/imunologia , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/genética , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Cadeias Pesadas de Imunoglobulinas/química , Cadeias Pesadas de Imunoglobulinas/imunologia , Cadeias Pesadas de Imunoglobulinas/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Antígenos/imunologia , Estabilidade ProteicaRESUMO
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a serious disease that poses a significant threat to the pig industry. This study focused on analyzing the Spike protein of PEDV, which harbors crucial antigenic determinants, in identifying dominant epitopes. Immunoinformatics tools were used to screen for B-cell, CD4+ and CD8+ predominance epitopes. These epitopes were then connected to the N-terminal of ferritin to form a self-assembled nanoparticle vaccine. Various physical and chemical properties of the candidate vaccine were analyzed, including secondary structure prediction, tertiary structure modeling, molecular docking, immune response simulation and computer cloning. The results demonstrated that the candidate vaccine was antigenic, soluble, stable, non-allergic, and formed a stable complex with the target receptor TLR-3. Immune simulation analysis showed that the candidate vaccine effectively stimulated both cellular and humoral reactions, leading to increased related cytokines production. Furthermore, efficient and stable expression of the candidate vaccine was achieved through reverse translation in the Escherichia coli K12 expression system following codon optimization and in silico cloning. The developed nanoparticle candidate vaccine in this study holds promise as an effective PEDV vaccine candidate, offering a new approach for the research, development and improvement of vaccines targeting porcine enteric diarrhea coronavirus.
Assuntos
Biologia Computacional , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Vírus da Diarreia Epidêmica Suína , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Vírus da Diarreia Epidêmica Suína/imunologia , Animais , Suínos , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Vacinas Virais/imunologia , Epitopos de Linfócito T/imunologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Coronavirus/imunologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/virologia , Doenças dos Suínos/prevenção & controle , Doenças dos Suínos/imunologia , Doenças dos Suínos/virologia , Epitopos de Linfócito B/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , ImunoinformáticaRESUMO
Previous work has shown that binding of target proteins to a sparse, unbiased sample of all possible peptide sequences is sufficient to train a machine learning model that can then predict, with statistically high accuracy, target binding to any possible peptide sequence of similar length. Here, highly sequence-specific molecular recognition is explored by measuring binding of 8 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with specific linear cognate epitopes to an array containing 121,715 near-random sequences about 10 residues in length. Network models trained on resulting sequence-binding values are used to predict the binding of each mAb to its cognate sequence and to an in silico generated one million random sequences. The model always ranks the binding of the cognate sequence in the top 100 sequences, and for 6 of the 8 mAbs, the cognate sequence ranks in the top ten. Practically, this approach has potential utility in selecting highly specific mAbs for therapeutics or diagnostics. More fundamentally, this demonstrates that very sparse random sampling of a large amino acid sequence spaces is sufficient to generate comprehensive models predictive of highly specific molecular recognition.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Monoclonais , Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologia , Anticorpos Monoclonais/química , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Aprendizado de Máquina , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Humanos , Ligação Proteica , Sítios de Ligação de Anticorpos , Simulação por ComputadorRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by the presence of autoantibodies, among which those targeting the constant region of immunoglobulin G (IgG), called rheumatoid factors (RF). Despite this link, RFs can also be found in other disorders and the healthy population, which hampers its use as a diagnostic tool. We recently showed that a subset of RA-derived RFs target a distinct epitope on the IgG-Fc, a feature that is currently not used in the clinic. METHODS: We determined immunoglobulin M (IgM)-RF levels specific against an RA-associated epitope (using our engineered next-generation RF antigen 'T3-17') in a prospective cohort of 475 patients with seropositive (for IgM-RF or aCCP) arthralgia that were followed for 5 years or until the development of arthritis. RESULTS: The presence of RFs targeting T3-17 was more strongly associated with progression to arthritis in comparison to traditional RF measurements. Within the group of patients positive for T3-17 RF the risk of arthritis development was increased as compared with wild-type RF, HR=3.2 (95% CI 2.4 to 4.3) vs HR=2.2 (95% CI 1.7 to 3.0). Predictive power of T3-17 RF was improved in combination with aCCP titres, HR=6.4 (4.7-8.7) vs HR=5.1 (3.9-6.8). This combination performed better than aCCP detection on its own. CONCLUSION: The detection of disease-specific RF is feasible and seems to improve the diagnostic power of RF and should be considered to be implemented in the clinic.
Assuntos
Artrite Reumatoide , Biomarcadores , Fator Reumatoide , Humanos , Fator Reumatoide/sangue , Artrite Reumatoide/diagnóstico , Artrite Reumatoide/sangue , Masculino , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso , Autoanticorpos/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Estudos Prospectivos , Adulto , Progressão da Doença , Epitopos/imunologia , Prognóstico , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina G/imunologiaRESUMO
Point-of-care serological and direct antigen testing offers actionable insights for diagnosing challenging illnesses, empowering distributed health systems. Here, we report a POC-compatible serologic test for Lyme disease (LD), leveraging synthetic peptides specific to LD antibodies and a paper-based platform for rapid, and cost-effective diagnosis. Antigenic epitopes conserved across Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies, targeted by IgG and IgM antibodies, are selected to develop a multiplexed panel for detection of LD antibodies from patient sera. Multiple peptide epitopes, when combined synergistically with a machine learning-based diagnostic model achieve high sensitivity without sacrificing specificity. Blinded validation with 15 LD-positive and 15 negative samples shows 95.5% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Blind testing with the CDC's LD repository samples confirms the test accuracy, matching lab-based two-tier results, correctly differentiating between LD and look-alike diseases. This LD diagnostic test could potentially replace the cumbersome two-tier testing, improving diagnosis and enabling earlier treatment while facilitating immune monitoring and surveillance.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos , Borrelia burgdorferi , Imunoglobulina G , Imunoglobulina M , Doença de Lyme , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Testes Sorológicos , Doença de Lyme/diagnóstico , Doença de Lyme/imunologia , Doença de Lyme/sangue , Doença de Lyme/microbiologia , Humanos , Testes Sorológicos/métodos , Borrelia burgdorferi/imunologia , Anticorpos Antibacterianos/sangue , Anticorpos Antibacterianos/imunologia , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Antígenos de Bactérias/imunologia , Aprendizado de Máquina , Epitopos/imunologia , Testes Imediatos , Sistemas Automatizados de Assistência Junto ao LeitoRESUMO
Monoclonal neutralizing antibodies (mAbs) are considered an important prophylactic against SARS-CoV-2 infection in at-risk populations and a strategy to counteract future sarbecovirus-induced disease. However, most mAbs isolated so far neutralize only a few sarbecovirus strains. Therefore, there is a growing interest in bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) which can simultaneously target different spike epitopes and thereby increase neutralizing breadth and prevent viral escape. Here, we generate and characterize a panel of 30 novel broadly reactive bsAbs using an efficient controlled Fab-arm exchange protocol. We specifically combine some of the broadest mAbs described so far, which target conserved epitopes on the receptor binding domain (RBD). Several bsAbs show superior cross-binding and neutralization compared to the parental mAbs and cocktails against sarbecoviruses from diverse clades, including recent SARS-CoV-2 variants. BsAbs which include mAb COVA2-02 are among the most potent and broad combinations. As a result, we study the unknown epitope of COVA2-02 and show that this mAb targets a distinct conserved region at the base of the RBD, which could be of interest when designing next-generation bsAb constructs to contribute to a better pandemic preparedness.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Biespecíficos , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , SARS-CoV-2 , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Anticorpos Biespecíficos/imunologia , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Epitopos/imunologia , Testes de Neutralização , Animais , Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologiaRESUMO
Bovine betacoronavirus (BoCoV) is a pneumoenteric pathogen of cattle that is closely related to human coronavirus OC43. Vaccines are administered to protect against diseases caused by BoCoV, but knowledge gaps exist with regard to correlates of protection and the effect of immune evasion on driving evolution. In this study, immune epitopes were mapped onto BoCoV structural proteins, including spike and haemagglutinin esterase (HE), and then supported with targeted gene sequencing of Irish clinical isolates and selective pressure analysis. Increased prevalence of diversifying selection and amino acid changes in some mapped immune epitopes suggests that immune escape is selecting for non-synonymous mutations arising in these regions. Selection analysis and sequencing provided increased support for neutralising antibody (nAb) epitopes compared to others, suggesting that nAbs are an important arm of the immune response to BoCoV. Phylogenetic analysis of spike and HE sequences showed that Irish isolates from this study were in the European clade, except for one HE sequence that sat in the Asian/American clade, while the spike gene of this sample was in the European clade. Recombination between a European and an Asian/American isolate would give rise to such a sequence. This study has gathered evidence suggesting that pressure to evade the nAb response is contributing to BoCoV evolution.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Bovinos , Infecções por Coronavirus , Coronavirus Bovino , Filogenia , Seleção Genética , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Animais , Bovinos , Coronavirus Bovino/genética , Coronavirus Bovino/imunologia , Coronavirus Bovino/isolamento & purificação , Doenças dos Bovinos/virologia , Doenças dos Bovinos/imunologia , Irlanda , Infecções por Coronavirus/veterinária , Infecções por Coronavirus/virologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/genética , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Epitopos/genética , Epitopos/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Evasão da Resposta Imune , Hemaglutininas Virais , Proteínas Virais de FusãoRESUMO
Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative bacillus prevalent in nature, capable of thriving under various environmental conditions. As an opportunistic pathogen, it frequently causes nosocomial infections such as urinary tract infections, bacteremia, and pneumonia, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality in clinical settings. Consequently, developing novel vaccines against Acinetobacter baumannii is of utmost importance. In our study, we identified 10 highly conserved antigenic proteins from the NCBI and UniProt databases for epitope mapping. We subsequently screened and selected 8 CTL, HTL, and LBL epitopes, integrating them into three distinct vaccines constructed with adjuvants. Following comprehensive evaluations of immunological and physicochemical parameters, we conducted molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to assess the efficacy and stability of these vaccines. Our findings indicate that all three multi-epitope mRNA vaccines designed against Acinetobacter baumannii are promising; however, further animal studies are required to confirm their reliability and effectiveness.
Assuntos
Acinetobacter baumannii , Vacinas Bacterianas , Biologia Computacional , Acinetobacter baumannii/imunologia , Acinetobacter baumannii/genética , Vacinas Bacterianas/imunologia , Vacinas Bacterianas/genética , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Infecções por Acinetobacter/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Acinetobacter/imunologia , Mapeamento de Epitopos , Vacinas de mRNA , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Humanos , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/imunologia , Antígenos de Bactérias/imunologia , Antígenos de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/imunologia , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/químicaRESUMO
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is responsible for various chronic or acute diseases, such as stomach ulcers, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, lymphoma, and stomach cancers. Although specific drugs are available to treat the bacterium's harmful effects, there is an urgent need to develop a preventive or therapeutic vaccine. Therefore, the current study aims to create a multi-epitope vaccine against H. pylori using lipid nanoparticles. Five epitopes from five target proteins of H. pylori, namely, Urease, CagA, HopE, SabA, and BabA, were used. Immunogenicity, MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) bonding, allergenicity, toxicity, physicochemical analysis, and global population coverage of the entire epitopes and final construct were carefully examined. The study involved using various bioinformatic web tools to accomplish the following tasks: modeling the three-dimensional structure of a set of epitopes and the final construct and docking them with Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4). In the experimental phase, the final multi-epitope construct was synthesized using the solid phase method, and it was then enclosed in lipid nanoparticles. After synthesizing the construct, its loading, average size distribution, and nanoliposome shape were checked using Nanodrop at 280 nm, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and atomic force microscope (AFM). The designed vaccine has been confirmed to be non-toxic and anti-allergic. It can bind with different MHC alleles at a rate of 99.05%. The construct loading was determined to be about 91%, with an average size of 54 nm. Spherical shapes were also observed in the AFM images. Further laboratory tests are necessary to confirm the safety and immunogenicity of the multi-epitope vaccine.
Assuntos
Vacinas Bacterianas , Biologia Computacional , Helicobacter pylori , Nanopartículas , Helicobacter pylori/imunologia , Nanopartículas/química , Vacinas Bacterianas/imunologia , Vacinas Bacterianas/química , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Humanos , Proteínas de Bactérias/imunologia , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Antígenos de Bactérias/imunologia , Antígenos de Bactérias/química , Infecções por Helicobacter/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Helicobacter/imunologia , Receptor 4 Toll-Like/imunologia , Urease/imunologia , Urease/química , Imunoinformática , LipossomosRESUMO
Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques have made great advances in assisting antibody design. However, antibody design still heavily relies on isolating antigen-specific antibodies from serum, which is a resource-intensive and time-consuming process. To address this issue, we propose a Pre-trained Antibody generative large Language Model (PALM-H3) for the de novo generation of artificial antibodies heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 (CDRH3) with desired antigen-binding specificity, reducing the reliance on natural antibodies. We also build a high-precision model antigen-antibody binder (A2binder) that pairs antigen epitope sequences with antibody sequences to predict binding specificity and affinity. PALM-H3-generated antibodies exhibit binding ability to SARS-CoV-2 antigens, including the emerging XBB variant, as confirmed through in-silico analysis and in-vitro assays. The in-vitro assays validate that PALM-H3-generated antibodies achieve high binding affinity and potent neutralization capability against spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and the emerging XBB variant. Meanwhile, A2binder demonstrates exceptional predictive performance on binding specificity for various epitopes and variants. Furthermore, by incorporating the attention mechanism inherent in the Roformer architecture into the PALM-H3 model, we improve its interpretability, providing crucial insights into the fundamental principles of antibody design.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais , COVID-19 , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade , Epitopos , SARS-CoV-2 , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , Humanos , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/genética , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/imunologia , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/química , Regiões Determinantes de Complementaridade/genética , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/virologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Inteligência ArtificialRESUMO
Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 S protein expression was examined in Vero cells by imaging using the human monoclonal antibody panel (PD4, PD5, sc23, and sc29). The PD4 and sc29 antibodies recognised conformational specific epitopes in the S2 protein subunit at the Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex. While PD5 and sc23 detected conformationally specific epitopes in the S1 protein subunit at the Golgi complex, only PD5 recognised the receptor binding domain (RBD). A comparison of the staining patterns of PD5 with non-conformationally specific antibodies that recognises the S1 subunit and RBD suggested the PD5 recognised a conformational structure within the S1 protein subunit. Our data suggests the antibody binding epitopes recognised by the human monoclonal antibodies formed at different locations in the secretory pathway during S protein transport, but a conformational change in the S1 protein subunit at the Golgi complex formed antibody binding epitopes that are recognised by virus neutralising antibodies.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , Epitopos , Complexo de Golgi , Conformação Proteica , SARS-CoV-2 , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Complexo de Golgi/metabolismo , Chlorocebus aethiops , Animais , Células Vero , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/metabolismo , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Humanos , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , Epitopos/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/metabolismo , Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologia , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/virologiaRESUMO
Introduction: Before they can produce their own antibodies, newborns are protected from infections by transplacental transfer of maternal IgG antibodies and after birth through breast milk IgA antibodies. Rhinovirus (RV) infections are extremely common in early childhood, and while RV infections often result in only mild upper respiratory illnesses, they can also cause severe lower respiratory illnesses such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Methods: We used high-density peptide arrays to profile infant and maternal antibody reactivity to capsid and full proteome sequences of three human RVs - A16, B52, and C11. Results: Numerous plasma IgG and breast milk IgA RV epitopes were identified that localized to regions of the RV capsid surface and interior, and also to several non-structural proteins. While most epitopes were bound by both IgG and IgA, there were several instances where isotype-specific and RV-specific binding were observed. We also profiled 62 unique RV-C protein loop sequences characteristic of this species' capsid VP1 protein. Discussion: Many of the RV-C loop sequences were highly bound by IgG from one-year-old infants, indicating recent or ongoing active infections, or alternatively, a level of cross-reactivity among homologous RV-C sites.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais , Imunoglobulina G , Leite Humano , Rhinovirus , Humanos , Leite Humano/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/sangue , Feminino , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Lactente , Rhinovirus/imunologia , Imunoglobulina A/imunologia , Imunoglobulina A/sangue , Infecções por Picornaviridae/imunologia , Recém-Nascido , Epitopos/imunologia , Proteínas do Capsídeo/imunologia , AdultoRESUMO
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe and fatal acute respiratory disease in humans. High fatality rates and continued infectiousness remain a pressing concern for global health preparedness. Antibodies targeted at the receptor-binding domain (RBD) are major countermeasures against human viral infection. Here, we report four potent nanobodies against MERS-CoV, which are isolated from alpaca, and especially the potency of Nb14 is highest in the pseudotyped virus assay. Structural studies show that Nb14 framework regions (FRs) are mainly involved in interactions targeting a novel epitope, which is entirely distinct from all previously reported antibodies, and disrupt the protein-carbohydrate interaction between residue W535 of RBD and hDPP4 N229-linked carbohydrate moiety (hDPP4-N229-glycan). Different from Nb14, Nb9 targets the cryptic face of RBD, which is distinctive from the hDPP4 binding site and the Nb14 epitope, and it induces the ß5-ß6 loop to inflect towards a shallow groove of the RBD and dampens the accommodation of a short helix of hDPP4. The particularly striking epitopes endow the two Nbs administrate synergistically in the pseudotyped MERS-CoV assays. These results not only character unprecedented epitopes for antibody recognition but also provide promising agents for prophylaxis and therapy of MERS-CoV infection.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , Infecções por Coronavirus , Epitopos , Coronavírus da Síndrome Respiratória do Oriente Médio , Anticorpos de Domínio Único , Coronavírus da Síndrome Respiratória do Oriente Médio/imunologia , Anticorpos de Domínio Único/imunologia , Anticorpos de Domínio Único/química , Humanos , Epitopos/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Animais , Infecções por Coronavirus/imunologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/virologia , Camelídeos Americanos/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Camundongos , Receptores Virais/metabolismo , Receptores Virais/imunologiaRESUMO
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a severe, post-infectious sequela of SARS-CoV-2 infection1,2, yet the pathophysiological mechanism connecting the infection to the broad inflammatory syndrome remains unknown. Here we leveraged a large set of samples from patients with MIS-C to identify a distinct set of host proteins targeted by patient autoantibodies including a particular autoreactive epitope within SNX8, a protein involved in regulating an antiviral pathway associated with MIS-C pathogenesis. In parallel, we also probed antibody responses from patients with MIS-C to the complete SARS-CoV-2 proteome and found enriched reactivity against a distinct domain of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. The immunogenic regions of the viral nucleocapsid and host SNX8 proteins bear remarkable sequence similarity. Consequently, we found that many children with anti-SNX8 autoantibodies also have cross-reactive T cells engaging both the SNX8 and the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein epitopes. Together, these findings suggest that patients with MIS-C develop a characteristic immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein that is associated with cross-reactivity to the self-protein SNX8, demonstrating a mechanistic link between the infection and the inflammatory syndrome, with implications for better understanding a range of post-infectious autoinflammatory diseases.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais , Autoanticorpos , COVID-19 , Reações Cruzadas , Epitopos , Mimetismo Molecular , SARS-CoV-2 , Síndrome de Resposta Inflamatória Sistêmica , Criança , Humanos , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Autoanticorpos/imunologia , Proteínas do Nucleocapsídeo de Coronavírus/química , Proteínas do Nucleocapsídeo de Coronavírus/imunologia , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/virologia , COVID-19/complicações , Reações Cruzadas/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Mimetismo Molecular/imunologia , Fosfoproteínas/química , Fosfoproteínas/imunologia , SARS-CoV-2/química , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , SARS-CoV-2/patogenicidade , Nexinas de Classificação/química , Nexinas de Classificação/imunologia , Síndrome de Resposta Inflamatória Sistêmica/imunologia , Síndrome de Resposta Inflamatória Sistêmica/patologia , Síndrome de Resposta Inflamatória Sistêmica/virologia , Linfócitos T/imunologiaRESUMO
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is an emerging bunyavirus that causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever and thrombocytopenia syndrome with a fatality rate of up to 30%. No licensed vaccines or therapeutics are currently available for humans. Here, we develop seven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SFTSV surface glycoprotein Gn. Mechanistic studies show that three neutralizing mAbs (S2A5, S1G3, and S1H7) block multiple steps during SFTSV infection, including viral attachment and membrane fusion, whereas another neutralizing mAb (B1G11) primarily inhibits the viral attachment step. Epitope binning and X-ray crystallographic analyses reveal four distinct antigenic sites on Gn, three of which have not previously been reported, corresponding to domain I, domain II, and spanning domain I and domain II. One of the most potent neutralizing mAbs, S2A5, binds to a conserved epitope on Gn domain I and broadly neutralizes infection of six SFTSV strains corresponding to genotypes A to F. A single dose treatment of S2A5 affords both pre- and post-exposure protection of mice against lethal SFTSV challenge without apparent weight loss. Our results support the importance of glycoprotein Gn for eliciting a robust humoral response and pave a path for developing prophylactic and therapeutic antibodies against SFTSV infection.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Monoclonais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , Epitopos , Phlebovirus , Febre Grave com Síndrome de Trombocitopenia , Animais , Phlebovirus/imunologia , Camundongos , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/uso terapêutico , Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Febre Grave com Síndrome de Trombocitopenia/imunologia , Febre Grave com Síndrome de Trombocitopenia/virologia , Febre Grave com Síndrome de Trombocitopenia/prevenção & controle , Humanos , Epitopos/imunologia , Feminino , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Proteínas do Envelope Viral/imunologia , Cristalografia por Raios X , Chlorocebus aethiops , Glicoproteínas/imunologia , Células VeroRESUMO
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic has exhibited a striking capacity for viral evolution that drives continued evasion from vaccine and infection-induced immune responses. Mutations in the receptor binding domain of the S1 subunit of the spike glycoprotein have led to considerable escape from antibody responses, reducing the efficacy of vaccines and monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies. Therefore, there is a need to interrogate more constrained regions of spike, such as the S2 subdomain. Here, we present a collection of S2 mAbs from two SARS-CoV-2 convalescent individuals that target multiple regions in S2, including regions outside of those commonly reported. One of the S2 mAbs, C20.119, which bound to a highly conserved epitope in the fusion peptide, was able to broadly neutralize across SARS-CoV-2 variants, SARS-CoV-1, and closely related zoonotic sarbecoviruses. The majority of the mAbs were non-neutralizing; however, many of them could mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) at levels similar to the S1-targeting mAb S309 that was previously authorized for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Several of the mAbs with ADCC function also bound to spike trimers from other human coronaviruses (HCoVs), such as MERS-CoV and HCoV-HKU1. Our findings suggest S2 mAbs can target diverse epitopes in S2, including functional mAbs with HCoV and sarbecovirus breadth that likely target functionally constrained regions of spike. These mAbs could be developed for potential future pandemics, while also providing insight into ideal epitopes for eliciting a broad HCoV response.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Monoclonais , Anticorpos Antivirais , COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Humanos , SARS-CoV-2/imunologia , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/virologia , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Pandemias , Betacoronavirus/imunologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/imunologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/virologia , Pneumonia Viral/imunologia , Pneumonia Viral/virologia , Citotoxicidade Celular Dependente de Anticorpos/imunologiaRESUMO
Influenza virus infection poses a continual menace to public health. Here, we developed soluble trimeric HA ectodomain vaccines by establishing interprotomer disulfide bonds in the stem region, which effectively preserve the native antigenicity of stem epitopes. The stable trimeric H1 ectodomain proteins exhibited higher thermal stabilities in comparison with unmodified HAs and showed strong binding activities towards a panel of anti-stem cross-reactive antibodies that recognize either interprotomer or intraprotomer epitopes. Negative stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed the stable trimer architecture of the interprotomer disulfide-stapled WA11#5, NC99#2, and FLD#1 proteins as well as the irregular aggregation of unmodified HA molecules. Immunizations of mice with those trimeric HA ectodomain vaccines formulated with incomplete Freund's adjuvant elicited significantly more potent cross-neutralizing antibody responses and offered broader immuno-protection against lethal infections with heterologous influenza strains compared to unmodified HA proteins. Additionally, the findings of our study indicate that elevated levels of HA stem-specific antibody responses correlate with strengthened cross-protections. Our design strategy has proven effective in trimerizing HA ectodomains derived from both influenza A and B viruses, thereby providing a valuable reference for designing future influenza HA immunogens.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , Dissulfetos , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza , Vacinas contra Influenza , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae , Animais , Vacinas contra Influenza/imunologia , Vacinas contra Influenza/genética , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/genética , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Camundongos , Dissulfetos/química , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/imunologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/virologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Feminino , Proteção Cruzada/imunologia , Reações Cruzadas , Humanos , Influenza Humana/prevenção & controle , Influenza Humana/imunologia , Influenza Humana/virologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/genética , Epitopos/química , Multimerização Proteica , Vírus da Influenza B/imunologia , Vírus da Influenza B/genética , Vírus da Influenza B/químicaRESUMO
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a complex nosocomial infectious agent responsible for numerous illnesses, with its growing resistance variations complicating treatment development. Studies have emphasized the importance of virulence factors OprE and OprF in pathogenesis, highlighting their potential as vaccine candidates. In this study, B-cell, MHC-I, and MHC-II epitopes were identified, and molecular linkers were active to join these epitopes with an appropriate adjuvant to construct a vaccine. Computational tools were employed to forecast the tertiary framework, characteristics, and also to confirm the vaccine's composition. The potency was weighed through population coverage analysis and immune simulation. This project aims to create a multi-epitope vaccine to reduce P. aeruginosa-related illness and mortality using immunoinformatics resources. The ultimate complex has been determined to be stable, soluble, antigenic, and non-allergenic upon inspection of its physicochemical and immunological properties. Additionally, the protein exhibited acidic and hydrophilic characteristics. The Ramachandran plot, ProSA-web, ERRAT, and Verify3D were employed to ensure the final model's authenticity once the protein's three-dimensional structure had been established and refined. The vaccine model showed a significant binding score and stability when interacting with MHC receptors. Population coverage analysis indicated a global coverage rate of 83.40%, with the USA having the highest coverage rate, exceeding 90%. Moreover, the vaccine sequence underwent codon optimization before being cloned into the Escherichia coli plasmid vector pET-28a (+) at the EcoRI and EcoRV restriction sites. Our research has developed a vaccine against P. aeruginosa that has strong binding affinity and worldwide coverage, offering an acceptable way to mitigate nosocomial infections.
Assuntos
Biologia Computacional , Infecções por Pseudomonas , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Sepse , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/imunologia , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genética , Humanos , Infecções por Pseudomonas/prevenção & controle , Infecções por Pseudomonas/imunologia , Infecções por Pseudomonas/microbiologia , Sepse/prevenção & controle , Sepse/imunologia , Sepse/microbiologia , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Pneumonia/prevenção & controle , Pneumonia/imunologia , Pneumonia/microbiologia , Vacinas contra Pseudomonas/imunologia , Vacinas Bacterianas/imunologia , Proteínas de Bactérias/imunologia , Proteínas de Bactérias/genéticaRESUMO
Anelloviruses are nonpathogenic viruses that comprise a major portion of the human virome. Despite being ubiquitous in the human population, anelloviruses (ANVs) remain poorly understood. Basic features of the virus, such as the identity of its capsid protein and the structure of the viral particle, have been unclear until now. Here, we use cryogenic electron microscopy to describe the first structure of an ANV-like particle. The particle, formed by 60 jelly roll domain-containing ANV capsid proteins, forms an icosahedral particle core from which spike domains extend to form a salient part of the particle surface. The spike domains come together around the 5-fold symmetry axis to form crown-like features. The base of the spike domain, the P1 subdomain, shares some sequence conservation between ANV strains while a hypervariable region, forming the P2 subdomain, is at the spike domain apex. We propose that this structure renders the particle less susceptible to antibody neutralization by hiding vulnerable conserved domains while exposing highly diverse epitopes as immunological decoys, thereby contributing to the immune evasion properties of anelloviruses. These results shed light on the structure of anelloviruses and provide a framework to understand their interactions with the immune system.
Assuntos
Proteínas do Capsídeo , Microscopia Crioeletrônica , Evasão da Resposta Imune , Vírion , Proteínas do Capsídeo/química , Proteínas do Capsídeo/imunologia , Proteínas do Capsídeo/ultraestrutura , Vírion/ultraestrutura , Vírion/imunologia , Humanos , Anelloviridae/genética , Anelloviridae/imunologia , Modelos Moleculares , Domínios Proteicos , Epitopos/imunologia , Epitopos/química , Sequência de AminoácidosRESUMO
Apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA1) is a conserved malarial vaccine candidate essential for the formation of tight junctions with the rhoptry neck protein (RON) complex, enabling Plasmodium parasites to invade human erythrocytes, hepatocytes, and mosquito salivary glands. Despite its critical role, extensive surface polymorphisms in AMA1 have led to strain-specific protection, limiting the success of AMA1-based interventions beyond initial clinical trials. Here, we identify an i-body, a humanised single-domain antibody-like molecule that recognises a conserved pan-species conformational epitope in AMA1 with low nanomolar affinity and inhibits the binding of the RON2 ligand to AMA1. Structural characterisation indicates that the WD34 i-body epitope spans the centre of the conserved hydrophobic cleft in AMA1, where interacting residues are highly conserved among all Plasmodium species. Furthermore, we show that WD34 inhibits merozoite invasion of erythrocytes by multiple Plasmodium species and hepatocyte invasion by P. falciparum sporozoites. Despite a short half-life in mouse serum, we demonstrate that WD34 transiently suppressed P. berghei infections in female BALB/c mice. Our work describes the first pan-species AMA1 biologic with inhibitory activity against multiple life-cycle stages of Plasmodium. With improved pharmacokinetic characteristics, WD34 could be a potential immunotherapy against multiple species of Plasmodium.