Novel Spike-stabilized trimers with improved production protect K18-hACE2 mice and golden Syrian hamsters from the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant.

ABSTRACT: Most COVID-19 vaccines are based on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein (S) or their subunits. However, S shows some structural instability that limits its immunogenicity and production, hampering the development of recombinant S-based vaccines. The introduction of the K986P and V987P (S-2P) mutations increases the production and immunogenicity of the recombinant S trimer, suggesting that these two parameters are related. Nevertheless, S-2P still shows some molecular instability and it is produced with low yield. Here we described a novel set of mutations identified by molecular modeling and located in the S2 region of the S-2P that increase its production up to five-fold. Besides their immunogenicity, the efficacy of two representative S-2P-based mutants, S-29 and S-21, protecting from a he

SUBMITTER: Avila-Nieto C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10731958 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature