title: A novel method for synthetic vaccine construction based on protein assembly.
abstract: In the history of vaccine development, the synthetic vaccine is a milestone that is in stark contrast with traditional vaccines based on live-attenuated or inactivated microorganisms. Synthetic vaccines not only are safer than attenuated or inactivated microorganisms but also provide the opportunity for vaccine design for specific purposes. The first generation of synthetic vaccines has been largely based on DNA recombination technology and genetic manipulation. This de novo generation is occasionally time consuming and costly, especially in the era of genomics and when facing pandemic outbreaks of infectious diseases. To accelerate and simplify the R&D process for vaccines, we developed an improved method of synthetic vaccine construction based on protein assembly. We optimized and employed the recently developed SpyTag/SpyCatcher technique to establish a protein assembly system for vaccine generation from pre-prepared subunit proteins. As proof of principle, we chose a dendritic cell (DC)-targeting molecule and specific model antigens to generate desired vaccines. The results demonstrated that a new vaccine generated in this way does not hamper the individual function of different vaccine components and is efficient in inducing both T and B cell responses. This protein assembly strategy may be especially useful for high-throughput antigen screening or rapid vaccine generation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China [2] University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Zhida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China [2] University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China [2] University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Virology, Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: The Department of Pathology and Committee on Immunology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Yang-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Mingzhao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D015195:Drug Design; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000379:methods; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; D011506:Proteins; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic