1. Rational design and production of a chimeric antigen targeting Zika virus that induces neutralizing antibodies in mice.
- Author
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Miranda-López, Arleth, González-Ortega, Omar, Govea-Alonso, Dania O., Betancourt-Mendiola, Lourdes, Comas-García, Mauricio, and Rosales-Mendoza, Sergio
- Subjects
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ZIKA virus , *ESCHERICHIA coli , *ANTIGENS , *IMMUNOGLOBULINS , *CHIMERIC proteins , *RECOMBINANT proteins , *MONOCLONAL antibodies - Abstract
The Zika virus (ZIKV) is considered a public health problem worldwide due to its association with the development of microcephaly and the Guillain-Barré syndrome. Currently, there is no specific treatment or vaccine approved to combat this disease, and thus, developing safe and effective vaccines is a relevant goal. In this study, a multi-epitope protein called rpZDIII was designed based on a series of ZIKV antigenic sequences, a bacterial carrier, and linkers. The analysis of the predicted 3D structure of the rpZDIII chimeric antigen was performed on the AlphaFold 2 server, and it was produced in E. coli and purified from inclusion bodies, followed by solubilization and refolding processes. The yield achieved for rpZDIII was 11 mg/L in terms of pure soluble recombinant protein per liter of fermentation. rpZDIII was deemed immunogenic since it induced serum IgG and IgM responses in mice upon subcutaneous immunization in a three-dose scheme. Moreover, sera from mice immunized with rpZDIII showed neutralizing activity against ZIKV. Therefore, this study reveals rpZDIII as a promising immunogen for the development of a rationally designed multi-epitope vaccine against ZIKV, and completion of its preclinical evaluation is guaranteed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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