Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 using extracellular blebs derived from spike protein-expressing dendritic cells

Jee Young Chung; Melissa N Thone; Jenny E Davies; Johannes S Gach; D Huw Davies; Donald N Forthal; Young Jik Kwon

doi:10.1016/j.cellimm.2023.104691

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 using extracellular blebs derived from spike protein-expressing dendritic cells

Cell Immunol. 2023 Apr:386:104691. doi: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2023.104691. Epub 2023 Feb 16.

Authors

Jee Young Chung¹, Melissa N Thone¹, Jenny E Davies², Johannes S Gach³, D Huw Davies², Donald N Forthal³, Young Jik Kwon⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States.
² Vaccine Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States. Electronic address: kwonyj@uci.edu.

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide but also accelerated the clinical use of emerging vaccine formulations. To address the current shortcomings in the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, this study developed a novel vaccine platform that closely mimics dendritic cells (DCs) in antigen presentation and T-cell stimulation in a cell-free and tunable manner. Genetically engineered DCs that express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) were chemically converted into extracellular blebs (EBs). The resulting EBs elicited potentially protective humoral immunity in vivo, indicated by the production of antibodies that potently neutralized S-pseudotyped virus, presenting EBs as a promising and safe vaccine.

Keywords: COVID-19; Controlled antigen presentation; Dendritic cell-derived vesicles; Extracellular blebs; Vaccines.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Dendritic Cells
Humans
SARS-CoV-2*
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / genetics
Vaccination

Substances

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
spike protein, SARS-CoV-2