Encapsulation of MERS antigen into α-GalCer-bearing-liposomes elicits stronger effector and memory immune responses in immunocompetent and leukopenic mice

Autor: Masood Alam Khan, Arif Khan, Mohammad A. Alzohairy, Abdulmohsen M. Alruwetei, Mohammed A. Alsahli, Khaled S. Allemailem, Faris Alrumaihi, Ahmad Almatroudi, Bader Y. Alhatlani, Osamah Al Rugaie, Ajamaluddin Malik
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of King Saud University: Science, Vol 34, Iss 5, Pp 102124- (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1018-3647
DOI: 10.1016/j.jksus.2022.102124
Popis: Objectives: Here, we prepared a liposome-based vaccine formulation containing Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus papain-like protease (MERS-CoV-PLpro). Methods: A persistent leukopenic condition was induced in mice by injecting cyclophosphamide (CYP) three days before each dose of immunization. Mice were immunized on days 0, 14 and 21 with α-GalCer-bearing MERS-CoV PLpro-encapsulated DPPC-liposomes (α-GalCer-MERS-PLpro-liposomes or MERS-CoV PLpo-encapsulated DPPC-liposomes (MERS-PLpro-liposomes), whereas the antigen emulsified in Alum (MERS-PLpro-Alum) was taken as a control. On day 26, the blood was taken from the immunized mice to analyze IgG titer, whereas the splenocytes were used to analyze the lymphocyte proliferation and the level of cytokines. In order to assess the memory immune response, mice were given a booster dose after 150 days of the last immunization. Results: The higher levels of MERS-CoV-PLpro-specific antibody titer, IgG2a and lymphocyte proliferation were noticed in mice immunized with α-GalCer-MERS-PLpro-liposomes. Besides, the splenocytes from mice immunized with α-GalCer-MERS-PLpro-liposomes produced larger amounts of IFN-γ as compared to the splenocytes from MERS-PLpro-liposomes or MERS- PLpro-Alum immunized mice. Importantly, an efficient antigen-specific memory immune response was observed in α-GalCer-MERS-PLpro-liposomes immunized mice. Conclusions: These findings suggest that α-GalCer-MERS-PLpro-liposomes may substantiate to be a successful vaccine formulation against MERS-CoV infection, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.
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