RESUMO
Transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) between birds and humans is an ongoing threat that holds potential for the emergence of a pandemic influenza strain. A major barrier to an effective vaccine against avian influenza has been the generally poor immunopotency of many of the HPAI strains coupled with the manufacturing constraints employing conventional methodologies. Fusion of flagellin, a toll-like receptor-5 ligand, to vaccine antigens has been shown to enhance the immune response to the fused antigen in preclinical studies. Here, we have evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of a panel of flagellin-based hemagglutinin (HA) globular head fusion vaccines in inbred mice. The HA globular head of these vaccines is derived from the A/Vietnam/1203/04 (VN04; H5N1) HA molecule. We find that replacement of domain D3 of flagellin with the VN04 HA globular head creates a highly effective vaccine that elicits protective HAI titers which protect mice against disease and death in a lethal challenge model.
Assuntos
Flagelina/imunologia , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Virus da Influenza A Subtipo H5N1/imunologia , Vacinas contra Influenza/imunologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/prevenção & controle , Animais , Linhagem Celular , Feminino , Flagelina/metabolismo , Testes de Inibição da Hemaglutinação , Humanos , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/imunologia , Proteínas Recombinantes/imunologia , Receptor 5 Toll-Like/metabolismoRESUMO
It is known that physical linkage of TLR ligands and vaccine antigens significantly enhances the immunopotency of the linked antigens. We have used this approach to generate novel influenza vaccines that fuse the globular head domain of the protective hemagglutinin (HA) antigen with the potent TLR5 ligand, flagellin. These fusion proteins are efficiently expressed in standard E. coli fermentation systems and the HA moiety can be faithfully refolded to take on the native conformation of the globular head. In mouse models of influenza infection, the vaccines elicit robust antibody responses that mitigate disease and protect mice from lethal challenge. These immunologically potent vaccines can be efficiently manufactured to support pandemic response, pre-pandemic and seasonal vaccines.
