A Divalent Chikungunya and Zika Nanovaccine with Thermostable Self‐assembly Multivalent Scaffold LS‐SUMO

Abstract

The convergence strategies of antigenic subunits and synthetic nanoparticle scaffold platform improve the vaccine production efficiency and enhance vaccine‐induced immunogenicity. The selection of the appropriate nanoparticle scaffold is critical for the immunological control of the target antigens. Lumazine synthase (LS) is an attractive candidate for a vaccine display system due to its thermo‐stability, modification tolerance, and morphological plasticity. Here, the first development of a multivalent thermostable scaffold, LS‐SUMO, and a divalent nanovaccine covalently conjugated with CHIKV E2 and ZIKV EDIII antigens, was reported. Compared with antigen monomers, LS‐SUMO nanoparticle vaccines elicited a higher humoral response and neutralizing antibodies against both antigen targets in mouse sera. Mice immunized with LS‐SUMO conjugates produced CD4⁺ T cell‐mediated Th2‐biased responses and promoted humoral immunity. Importantly, LS‐SUMO conjugates possess equivalent humoral immunogenicity after heat treatment. Taken together, LS‐SUMO is a powerful bio‐targeting nanoplatform with high‐yield production, thermal stability and opens a new avenue for multivalent presentation of various antigens.

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