Engineering chimeric PCSK9 for a vaccine against atherosclerosis.

ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis, are the main cause of death in the whole world. The risk can be reduced by lowering the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by targeting proprotein convertase 9 (PCSK9) through genome editing or neutralization by monoclonal antibodies. Vaccination against PCSK9 represents an alternative with potentially long-lasting efficacy, but must overcome the challenge of immunogenicity against the endogenous protein, which can also elicit lower antibody response due to B cell tolerance. In contrast to the previously reported weakly immunogenic PCSK9 peptides, we have developed a designed chimeric PCSK9 that maintains the surface epitopes and elicits a B cell immune response with PCSK9-specific antibodies, comparable to human-based vaccines, b

SUBMITTER: Malensek S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12356014 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature