Characterization and protective efficacy in an animal model of a novel truncated rotavirus VP8 subunit parenteral vaccine candidate. Issue 22 (21st May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xue, Miaoge; Yu, Linqi; Che, Yaojian; Lin, Haijun; Zeng, Yuanjun; Fang, Mujin; Li, Tingdong; Ge, Shengxiang; Xia, Ningshao
• Is Part Of: Vaccine. Volume 33:Issue 22(2015)
• Page Start: 2606
• Page End: 2613
• Publication Date: 2015-05-21
• Subjects: Rotavirus -- Vaccine -- Subunit vaccine -- VP8* protein -- Maternal antibody -- Diarrhea score; Vaccines -- Periodicals; 615.372
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.03.068
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-410X

Abstract

Abstract: The cell-attachment protein VP8* of rotavirus is a potential candidate parenteral vaccine. However, the yield of full-length VP8 protein (VP8*, residues 1–231) expressed in Escherichia coli was low, and a truncated VP8 protein (ΔVP8*, residues 65–231) cannot elicit efficient protective immunity in a mouse model. In this study, tow novel truncated VP8 proteins, VP8-1 (residues 26–231) and VP8-2 (residues 51–231), were expressed in E. coli and evaluated for immunogenicity and protective efficacy, compared with VP8* and ΔVP8*. As well as ΔVP8*, the protein VP8-1 and VP8-2 were successfully expressed in high yield and purified in homogeneous dimeric forms, while the protein VP8* was expressed with lower yield and prone to aggregation and degradation in solution. Although the immunogenicity of the protein VP8*, VP8-1, VP8-2 and ΔVP8* was comparable, immunization of VP8* and VP8-1 elicited significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers than that of VP8-2 and ΔVP8* in mice. Furthermore, when assessed using a mouse maternal antibody model, the efficacy of VP8-1 to protect against rotavirus-induced diarrhea in pups was comparable to that of VP8*, both were dramatically higher than that of VP8-2 and ΔVP8*. Taken together, the novel truncated protein VP8-1, with increased yield, improved homogeneity and high protective efficacy, is a viable candidate for further development of a parenterally administrated prophylactic vaccine against rotavirus infection.