Semi-synthetic terpenoids with differential adjuvant properties as sustainable replacements for shark squalene in vaccine emulsions.

ABSTRACT: Synthetic biology has allowed for the industrial production of supply-limited sesquiterpenoids such as the antimalarial drug artemisinin and β-farnesene. One of the only unmodified animal products used in medicine is squalene, a triterpenoid derived from shark liver oil, which when formulated into an emulsion is used as a vaccine adjuvant to enhance immune responses in licensed vaccines. However, overfishing is depleting deep-sea shark populations, leading to potential supply problems for squalene. We chemically generated over 20 squalene analogues from fermentation-derived β-farnesene and evaluated adjuvant activity of the emulsified compounds compared to shark squalene emulsion. By employing a desirability function approach that incorporated multiple immune readouts, we identified analog

SUBMITTER: Fisher KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9935550 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature