Researchers from the Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology have developed an innovative, modular nanoparticle that could become the foundation of a universal vaccine. By using a phage capsid and antigens derived from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, along with immune response-enhancing elements, the new technology allows for rapid adaptation of the vaccine to emerging pathogens. The structural part of the project was carried out at the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Laboratory at the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS.
Researchers have developed a nanoparticle is based on a phage capsid that has been devoid of its own genetic material and instead equipped with antigens derived from the SARS-CoV-2 virus: specifically, the RBD (Receptor Binding Domain) protein. The research team, led by Dr. Antonina Naskalska, enhanced the nanoparticles with elements that could potentially boost the immune response: short, single-stranded DNA fragments or longer, coding mRNA sequences. The nanoparticle was designed in a modular fashion, allowing for the replacement of antigens displayed on its surface or molecules packed inside the capsid. The advantage of such a vaccine design lies in its ability to be rapidly adapted to an emerging pathogen or a new virus variant.
One of the key aspects of the presented vaccine prototype is the trimeric form of the RBD protein—identical to the form found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. An organism vaccinated with such an antigen has a greater chance of producing effective antibodies that, in the event of exposure to the virus, will protect it from infection. Demonstrating the trimeric form of the RBD antigen on the surface of the presented nanoparticles was made possible through structural studies using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), conducted at the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS.
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