tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Int J Biol Macromol
. 2025 Dec 22:149867.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149867. Online ahead of print. Ferritin-based hybrid protein particle vaccine combining M2e antigen of influenza A virus and S-protein tandem epitopes of SARS-CoV-2
Xiaotong Song[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zijie Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongxiang Zheng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zenglan Li[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rong Yu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chun Zhang[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Ferritin functions as an antigen delivery platform for enhancing immune responses and is widely employed in vaccine development. Here, we propose a ferritin-based hybrid protein particle strategy using Escherichia coli to produce a hybrid protein particle vaccine combining an M2e antigen of influenza A and an S-protein tandem epitopes (STE antigen) of SARS-CoV-2. M2e and STE antigens were independently fused to the N-terminus of the human ferritin heavy chain (FTH), and the two expression cassettes were placed within a single open reading frame under the control of the same promoter in the pET-30a vector. The M2e-FTH and STE-FTH subunits were simultaneously expressed and efficiently co-assembled into M2e/STE-FTH hybrid protein particles in E. coli. The physicochemical properties of M2e/STE-FTH were characterized and compared with those of M2e-FTH and STE-FTH. In mice, ferritin-fused antigens elicited stronger immune responses than those with antigens alone, especially for ferritin-fused M2e antigens, of which the serum M2e-specific antibody titers increased at least one order of magnitude. Meanwhile the hybrid M2e/STE-FTH particle exhibited superior potency to their homologous counterparts. The immunized sera antibodies (M2e/STE-FTH) can efficiently inhibit the infection of the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus to 293T-hACE2 host cells, simultaneously bound to the 293T-M2 cell surface, and mediated ADCC activity, which demonstrates the promising preventive potentials. This work would provide a general approach to develop ferritin-based hybrid protein particle combination vaccines using E. coli.
Keywords: Combination vaccine; E. coli; Ferritin; Hybrid protein particle; M2e antigen; S-protein tandem epitopes of SARS-CoV-2.
. 2025 Dec 22:149867.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149867. Online ahead of print. Ferritin-based hybrid protein particle vaccine combining M2e antigen of influenza A virus and S-protein tandem epitopes of SARS-CoV-2
Xiaotong Song[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zijie Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongxiang Zheng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zenglan Li[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rong Yu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chun Zhang[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 41443448
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149867
Ferritin functions as an antigen delivery platform for enhancing immune responses and is widely employed in vaccine development. Here, we propose a ferritin-based hybrid protein particle strategy using Escherichia coli to produce a hybrid protein particle vaccine combining an M2e antigen of influenza A and an S-protein tandem epitopes (STE antigen) of SARS-CoV-2. M2e and STE antigens were independently fused to the N-terminus of the human ferritin heavy chain (FTH), and the two expression cassettes were placed within a single open reading frame under the control of the same promoter in the pET-30a vector. The M2e-FTH and STE-FTH subunits were simultaneously expressed and efficiently co-assembled into M2e/STE-FTH hybrid protein particles in E. coli. The physicochemical properties of M2e/STE-FTH were characterized and compared with those of M2e-FTH and STE-FTH. In mice, ferritin-fused antigens elicited stronger immune responses than those with antigens alone, especially for ferritin-fused M2e antigens, of which the serum M2e-specific antibody titers increased at least one order of magnitude. Meanwhile the hybrid M2e/STE-FTH particle exhibited superior potency to their homologous counterparts. The immunized sera antibodies (M2e/STE-FTH) can efficiently inhibit the infection of the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus to 293T-hACE2 host cells, simultaneously bound to the 293T-M2 cell surface, and mediated ADCC activity, which demonstrates the promising preventive potentials. This work would provide a general approach to develop ferritin-based hybrid protein particle combination vaccines using E. coli.
Keywords: Combination vaccine; E. coli; Ferritin; Hybrid protein particle; M2e antigen; S-protein tandem epitopes of SARS-CoV-2.