Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eakachai Prompetchara, Chutitorn Ketloy, Kittipan Tharakhet, Papatsara Kaewpang, Supranee Buranapraditkun, Teerasit Techawiwattanaboon, Suwitra Sathean-anan-kun, Patrawadee Pitakpolrat, Supaporn Watcharaplueksadee, Supaporn Phumiamorn, Wassana Wijagkanalan, Kanitha Patarakul, Tanapat Palaga, Kiat Ruxrungtham
Summary: The construction strategy of DNA vaccine candidates expressing full-length wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce high levels of specific binding IgG in mice. The full-length S antigen is more potent than the truncated spike (S1 or S2) in inducing neutralizing antibodies and robust T cell responses. This finding provides important insights for vaccine development.
Article
Immunology
Eric M. Mucker, Rebecca L. Brocato, Lucia M. Principe, Robert K. Kim, Xiankun Zeng, Jeffrey M. Smith, Steven A. Kwilas, Sungwon Kim, Helen Horton, Lisa Caproni, Jay W. Hooper
Summary: A synthetic DNA vaccine targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 showed efficacy in protecting Syrian hamsters from infection, as evidenced by significant reduction in viral RNA, infectious virus, and pathology. The vaccine also demonstrated the ability to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants in vitro.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alon Wellner, Conor McMahon, Morgan S. A. Gilman, Jonathan R. Clements, Sarah Clark, Kianna M. Nguyen, Ming H. Ho, Vincent J. Hu, Jung-Eun Shin, Jared Feldman, Blake M. Hauser, Timothy M. Caradonna, Laura M. Wingler, Aaron G. Schmidt, Debora S. Marks, Jonathan Abraham, Andrew C. Kruse, Chang C. Liu
Summary: AHEAD is a synthetic recombinant antibody generation technology that mimics somatic hypermutation inside engineered yeast, enabling the continuous mutation of antibody repertoires through simple cycles of yeast culturing and enrichment for antigen binding to produce high-affinity clones in a short timeframe.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Dan Liu, Haicong Shen, Yuqian Zhang, Danyu Shen, Mingyang Zhu, Yanling Song, Zhi Zhu, Chaoyong Yang
Summary: The MI-IF-RPA assay developed in this study offers a rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2, integrating RT-RPA and LF detection systems into a single microfluidic chip. The assay provides easily interpretable results with a short testing time of approximately 30 minutes, showing high sensitivity and specificity, making it a cost-effective screening tool for resource-limited areas in complement to RT-PCR.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joon Soo Park, Kuangwen Hsieh, Liben Chen, Aniruddha Kaushik, Alexander Y. Trick, Tza-Huei Wang
Summary: The digital-enhanced CRISPR/Cas-assisted one-pot virus detection (deCOViD) is a novel assay that allows qualitative and quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a very short time with high sensitivity and a broad dynamic range. It outperforms current benchtop-based counterparts and represents one of the fastest and most sensitive CRISPR/Cas-assisted SARS-CoV-2 detection methods to date.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yu Wang, Tianhao Yan, Kainan Mei, Depeng Rao, Wenjie Wu, Ye Chen, Yongpei Peng, Jianye Wang, Shangquan Wu, Qingchuan Zhang
Summary: This study developed an ultrasensitive nanomechanical method based on peptide nucleic acid for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The method has a low detection limit and can accurately diagnose COVID-19 patients, making it an important tool for early diagnosis and broad detection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jen-Hui Tsou, Hongjie Liu, Sanford A. Stass, Feng Jiang
Summary: This study developed a rapid CRISPR test for sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 without the need for RNA extraction, allowing for completion within one hour. The test is simple to operate, requiring minimal equipment, and results can be visualized immediately using a UV light illuminator or paper strips.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kean Hean Ooi, Mengying Mandy Liu, Jie Wen Douglas Tay, Seok Yee Teo, Pornchai Kaewsapsak, Shengyang Jin, Chun Kiat Lee, Jingwen Hou, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, Weisi Lin, Benedict Yan, Gabriel Yan, Yong-Gui Gao, Meng How Tan
Summary: Extensive testing is crucial to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The authors have developed a CRISPR-based diagnostic assay that can detect both wildtype and known variants of the virus efficiently and quickly.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Angela Choi, Matthew Koch, Kai Wu, Laurence Chu, LingZhi Ma, Anna Hill, Naveen Nunna, Wenmei Huang, Judy Oestreicher, Tonya Colpitts, Hamilton Bennett, Holly Legault, Yamuna Paila, Biliana Nestorova, Baoyu Ding, David Montefiori, Rolando Pajon, Jacqueline M. Miller, Brett Leav, Andrea Carfi, Roderick McPhee, Darin K. Edwards
Summary: The study demonstrates that both the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine and its variant-modified booster doses are safe and effective in improving neutralizing antibody titers against various virus variants.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Inga Szurgot, Leo Hanke, Daniel J. Sheward, Laura Perez Vidakovics, Ben Murrell, Gerald M. McInerney, Peter Liljestrom
Summary: The study compared the immunogenicity of two alphavirus-based DNA-launched self-replicating (DREP) vaccine candidates encoding different forms of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. It was found that the unmodified spike vaccine was more effective in inducing high levels of neutralizing antibodies in mice. Additionally, both vaccine candidates were able to prime immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and could be enhanced with a heterologous spike protein immunization.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jun Hui Soh, Enrique Balleza, Muhammad Nadjad Abdul Rahim, Hsi -Min Chan, Siswand Mohd Ali, Jacqueline Kai Chin Chuah, Sherif Edris, Ahmed Atef, Ahmed Bahieldin, Jackie Y. Ying, Jamal S. M. Sabir
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to healthcare systems, and sensitive, specific, and timely diagnosis is crucial. While RT-PCR is highly sensitive and specific, it is not accessible to resource-limited areas. Antigen rapid tests enable on-site testing but are less sensitive and specific. CRISPR-Cas systems, with isothermal amplification and dip-stick readout, offer sensitive and specific on-site testing, but further improvements are needed for clinical adoption.
TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Julie Boucau, Kara W. Chew, Manish C. Choudhary, Rinki Deo, James Regan, James P. Flynn, Charles R. Crain, Michael D. Hughes, Justin Ritz, Carlee Moser, Joan A. Dragavon, Arzhang C. Javan, Ajay Nirula, Paul Klekotka, Alexander L. Greninger, Robert W. Coombs, William A. Fischer, Eric S. Daar, David A. Wohl, Joseph J. Eron, Judith S. Currier, Davey M. Smith, Jonathan Z. Li, Amy K. Barczak
Summary: In the ACTIV-2 trial, viral culture dynamics were studied in participants receiving bamlanivimab monoclonal antibody treatment. The results showed that mAbs treatment rapidly cleared culturable virus and may offer immediate household and public health benefits by reducing transmission.
CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Virology
Sally A. Mahmoud, Subhashini Ganesan, Esra Ibrahim, Bhagyashree Thakre, Juliet G. Teddy, Preety Raheja, Walid A. Zaher
Summary: This study evaluated six commercially available rapid nucleic acid detection assays for SARS-CoV-2 virus detection, with AQ-TOP showing the highest sensitivity and kappa value, and POCKIT having the highest test accuracy. Genechecker system, Abbott ID NOW, and Cobas Liat performed the best when compared with the standard RT-PCR for COVID-19 detection, showing potential for large-scale screening of COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xuejun Wang, Derong Kong, Mingquan Guo, Liqian Wang, Chenjian Gu, Changhao Dai, Yao Wang, Qunfeng Jiang, Zhaolin Ai, Cong Zhang, Di Qu, Youhua Xie, Zhaoqin Zhu, Yunqi Liu, Dacheng Wei
Summary: The TDN-LG FETs technology enables fast and frequent direct SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing without the need for nucleic acid extraction and amplification, while also achieving unamplified 10-in-1 pooled nucleic acid testing with results consistent with PCR.
Review
Immunology
Till Koch, Sibylle C. Mellinghoff, Parichehr Shamsrizi, Marylyn M. Addo, Christine Dahlke
Summary: The article discusses the challenges and developments brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of vaccines in combating the outbreak. It mentions the progress and challenges of various vaccine candidates. The article also delves into vaccine-induced immune responses and immunological markers linked to protection, exploring possible methods for evaluating vaccines in the future.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maddy L. Newby, Carl A. Fogarty, Joel D. Allen, John Butler, Elisa Fadda, Max Crispin
Summary: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants affects the effectiveness of existing immunity. Understanding the structure of the viral spike helps determine the impact of mutations on the antigenic surface. One type of mutation affects glycosylation attachment sites, which can influence the antigenic structure beyond the immediate attachment site. This study compares the glycosylation of different variants and investigates the effects of specific glycan sites on the spike protein.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kwinten Sliepen, Laura Radi, Joan Capella-Pujol, Yasunori Watanabe, Ian Zon, Ana Chumbe, Wen-Hsin Lee, Marlon de Gast, Jelle Koopsen, Sylvie Koekkoek, Ivan Del Moral-Sanchez, Philip J. M. Brouwer, Rashmi Ravichandran, Gabriel Ozorowski, Neil P. King, Andrew B. Ward, Marit J. van Gils, Max Crispin, Janke Schinkel, Rogier W. Sanders
Summary: This study describes the generation of recombinant soluble E1E2 immunogens, which are displayed on nanoparticles and induce potent neutralizing antibody responses. Furthermore, mosaic nanoparticles displaying multiple different E2E1 immunogens significantly improve neutralization.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Nicholas J. J. Tursi, Ziyang Xu, Daniel W. W. Kulp, David B. B. Weiner
Summary: Nanoparticle vaccines are a diverse category of vaccines that can be used for prevention or treatment of various diseases. They can enhance vaccine immunogenicity and generate potent B-cell responses. There are two main types of nanoparticle vaccines: those that use nanoscale structures for antigen delivery and those that are themselves vaccines. In vivo assembly of scaffolded vaccines using nucleic acids or viral vectors is a promising approach for nanovaccine delivery. This article reviews the methods for de novo assembly of nanovaccines in the host using gene delivery methods.
WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yi-Nan Zhang, Jennifer Paynter, Aleksandar Antanasijevic, Joel D. Allen, Mor Eldad, Yi-Zong Lee, Jeffrey Copps, Maddy L. Newby, Linling He, Deborah Chavez, Pat Frost, Anna Goodroe, John Dutton, Robert Lanford, Christopher Chen, Ian A. Wilson, Max Crispin, Andrew B. Ward, Jiang Zhu
Summary: The authors present an HIV-1 vaccine strategy that combines Env stabilization, nanoparticle display, and glycan trimming, which improves neutralizing antibody responses, frequency of vaccine responders, and germinal center reactions in animal models.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Hailee R. Perrett, Philip J. M. Brouwer, Jonathan Hurtado, Maddy L. Newby, Lin Liu, Helena Mueller-Kraeuter, Sarah Mueller Aguirre, Judith A. Burger, Joey H. Bouhuijs, Grace Gibson, Terrence Messmer, John S. Schieffelin, Aleksandar Antanasijevic, Geert-Jan Boons, Thomas Strecker, Max Crispin, Rogier W. Sanders, Bryan Briney, Andrew B. Ward
Summary: This study presents the development and characterization of prefusion-stabilized GPCs from different lineages of Lassa virus. It reveals structural conservation and neutralization mechanisms of antibodies, and identifies a potential neutralizing antibody, providing important molecular information for vaccine design against Lassa fever.
Article
Cell Biology
Joel D. Allen, Dylan P. Ivory, Sophie Ge Song, Wan-Ting He, Tazio Capozzola, Peter Yong, Dennis R. Burton, Raiees Andrabi, Max Crispin
Summary: Animal reservoirs of sarbecoviruses pose a risk of pandemics, so there is a need for pan-coronavirus vaccines. The glycan shields of coronaviruses vary, with the S2 domain having a lower glycan shield density. This makes the S2 domain a potential target for vaccine design.
Article
Plant Sciences
Emmanuel Margolin, Georgia Schafer, Joel D. Allen, Sophette Gers, Jeremy Woodward, Andrew D. Sutherland, Melissa Blumenthal, Ann Meyers, Megan L. Shaw, Wolfgang Preiser, Richard Strasser, Max Crispin, Anna-Lise Williamson, Edward P. Rybicki, Ros Chapman
Summary: By applying an integrated host and glyco-engineering approach, a model antigen of the emerging virus SARS-CoV-2 was successfully produced in Nicotiana benthamiana. The protein produced in plants had a similar structure but differed in glycosylation compared to the protein produced in mammalian cells. Animals immunized with the plant-derived antigen showed reduced viral loads, lower lung pathology, and protection from weight loss after challenge, although the protection was not as potent as that induced by the mammalian cell-culture-derived antigen.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Nicholas J. Tursi, Ziyang Xu, Michaela Helble, Susanne Walker, Kevin Liaw, Neethu Chokkalingam, Toshitha Kannan, Yuanhan Wu, Edgar Tello-Ruiz, Daniel H. Park, Xizhou Zhu, Megan C. Wise, Trevor R. F. Smith, Sonali Majumdar, Andrew Kossenkov, Daniel W. Kulp, David B. Weiner
Summary: Cancer immunotherapy, including checkpoint inhibitors and engineered cytokines, shows promise in treating cancer. Antibody-cytokine chimeras (ACCs) have been designed and evaluated in this study, with TA99-Neo2/15 and TA99-HL2-KOA1 being investigated. The first-generation ACC TA99-Neo2/15 demonstrated synergistic effects with DLnano-vaccines in suppressing melanoma proliferation, while the second-generation ACC TA99-HL2-KOA1 showed lower systemic cytokine activation with comparable tumor protection. Transcriptomic analyses revealed upregulation of Type I interferon responsive genes following TA99-HL2-KOA1 treatment. Further research on ACCs in combination with cancer vaccines is important for treating melanoma and other cancers.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Tom G. Caniels, Max Medina-Ramirez, Jinsong Zhang, Anita Sarkar, Sonu Kumar, Alex LaBranche, Ronald Derking, Joel D. Allen, Jonne L. Snitselaar, Joan Capella-Pujol, Ivan del Moral Sanchez, Anila Yasmeen, Marilyn Diaz, Yoann Aldon, Tom P. L. Bijl, Sravani Venkatayogi, Joshua S. Martin Beem, Amanda Newman, Chuancang Jiang, Wen-Hsin Lee, Maarten Pater, Judith A. Burger, Marielle J. van Breemen, Steven W. de Taeye, Kimmo Rantalainen, Celia LaBranche, Kevin O. Saunders, David Montefiori, Gabriel Ozorowski, Andrew B. Ward, Max Crispin, John P. Moore, Per Johan Klasse, Barton F. Haynes, Ian A. Wilson, Kevin Wiehe, Laurent Verkoczy, Rogier W. Sanders
Summary: Targeting germline precursors of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) is an important strategy for HIV-1 vaccines. The VRC01-class of bNAbs, which require extensive somatic hypermutation, can be optimized for vaccine-induced affinity maturation by selecting boosting immunogens. The results demonstrate proof of concept for generating cross-reactive antibody responses that require rare insertions and deletions.
CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hannah Bauer-Smith, Abigail S. L. Sudol, Stephen A. Beers, Max Crispin
Summary: Antibodies play an important role in immune recruitment or clearance of immune complexes through their interaction with cellular Fc receptors. The presence of endogenous immunoglobulin can affect the engagement of cellular receptors. This review examines the factors controlling serum IgG levels and discusses how endogenous IgG influences the functional activation thresholds of low- and high-affinity Fc receptors. Furthermore, it explores the potential of antibody engineering and pharmacological control to overcome physiological limitations and enhance antibody therapeutics.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENERAL SUBJECTS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Tommy Tong, Alessio D'Addabbo, Jiamin Xu, Himanshi Chawla, Albert Nguyen, Paola Ochoa, Max Crispin, James M. Binley
Summary: An effective vaccine to block HIV-1 infection remains elusive due to the difficulty in creating pure authentic envelope glycoprotein. Current vaccine research focuses on stabilizing soluble envelope trimers, but incomplete authenticity may limit efficacy. In this study, we evaluated the effects of stabilizing mutations on membrane-expressed envelope mRNA vaccines and found that some mutations alter the conformation and may not be suitable for nucleic acid-based vaccines.
Article
Microbiology
Rajesh P. Ringe, Philippe Colin, Gabriel Ozorowski, Joel D. Allen, Anila Yasmeen, Gemma E. Seabright, Jeong Hyun Lee, Aleksandar Antanasijevic, Kimmo Rantalainen, Thomas Ketas, John P. Moore, Andrew B. Ward, Max Crispin, P. J. Klasse
Summary: The study reveals that the neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 have different effects on different fusion peptide epitopes, which are associated with persistent fractions. By conducting pseudovirus depletion experiments and analyzing the structure of soluble trimers, it is found that glycosylation variation may be the cause of the differences in binding and neutralization effects.
Article
Immunology
Osman Dadas, Joel D. Allen, Sarah L. Buchan, Jinny Kim, H. T. Claude Chan, C. Ian Mockridge, Patrick J. Duriez, Anne Rogel, Max Crispin, Aymen Al-Shamkhani
Summary: This study investigates the generation and activity of soluble variants of CD70 and compares their efficacy with an agonist anti-CD27 antibody. The results show that dtCD70-Fc, a dimer-of-trimer protein, can enhance T cell proliferation in vitro, but is less effective than anti-CD27 antibody in boosting a CD8 T cell vaccine response in vivo. However, reducing the glycosylation of dtCD70-Fc improves its half-life and T cell stimulatory activity. Additionally, FcγR binding is found to be important for the maximal boosting of a CD8 T cell response by dtCD70-Fc.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Devivasha Bordoloi, Abhijeet J. Kulkarni, Opeyemi S. Adeniji, M. Betina Pampena, Pratik S. Bhojnagarwala, Shushu Zhao, Candice Ionescu, Alfredo Perales-Puchalt, Elizabeth M. Parzych, Xizhou Zhu, Ali R. Ali, Joel Cassel, Rugang Zhang, Michael R. Betts, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, David B. Weiner
Summary: Targeting Siglec-7 antigen can enhance the killing effect of natural killer (NK) cells on ovarian cancer cells and improve treatment outcomes. Additionally, the development of a cell engager that activates NK cells and targets ovarian cancer cells has shown promising results in controlling tumor growth and improving survival rates.
Meeting Abstract
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rachel Lamerton, Edith Marcial Juarez, Sian Faustini, Marisol Perez-Toledo, Margaret Goodall, Sian Jossi, Adrian Shields, Ian Henderson, Julie Rayes, Steve Watson, Max Crispin, Alex Richter, Adam Cunningham
MOLECULAR IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
