Dataset Information

Unmethylated CpG motif-containing genomic DNA fragments of bacillus calmette-guerin improves immune response towards a DNA vaccine for COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: The development of an effective vaccine to control the global coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of utmost importance. In this study, a synthetic DNA-based vaccine candidate, known as pSV10-SARS-CoV-2, expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was designed and tested in 39 BALB/c mice with BC01, an adjuvant derived from unmethylated CpG motif-containing DNA fragments from the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin genome. Mice vaccinated with pSV10-SARS-CoV-2 with BC01 produced early neutralizing antibodies and developed stronger humoral and cellular immune responses compared to mice that received the DNA vaccine only. Moreover, sera from mice vaccinated with pSV10-SARS-CoV-2 with BC01 can neutralize certain variants, including 614G, 614G + 472 V, 452R, 483A, 501Y.V2, and B.1.1.7. The results of this study demonstrate that the addition of BC01 to a DNA-vaccine for COVID-19 could elicit more effective neutralizing antibody titers for disease prevention.

SUBMITTER: Zhou Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8413458 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine has been in use for 99 years, and is regarded as one of the oldest human vaccines known today. It is recommended primarily due to its effect in preventing the most severe forms of tuberculosis, including disseminated tuberculosis and meningeal tuberculosis in children; however, its efficacy in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis and TB reactivation in adults has been questioned. Several studies however have found that asides from its role in tuberculosis prevention, the BCG vaccine also has protective effects against a host of other viral infections in humans, an effect which has been termed: heterologous, non-specific or off-target.ObjectivesAs we approach 100 years since the discovery of the BCG vaccine, we review the evidence of the non-specific protection offered by the vaccine against viral infections, discuss the possible mechanisms of action of these effects, highlight the implications these effects could have on vaccinology and summarize the recent epidemiological correlation between the vaccine and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsSeveral epidemiological studies have established that BCG does reduce all-cause mortality in infants, and also the time of vaccination influences this effect significantly. This effect has been attributed to the protective effect of the vaccine in preventing unrelated viral infections during the neonatal period. Some of such viral infections that have been investigated include: herpes simplex virus (HSV), human Papilloma virus (HPV), yellow fever virus (YFV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus type A (H1N1). These effects are thought to be mediated via induction of innate immune memory as well as heterologous lymphocytic activation. While epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation, the potential protection of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 transmission and mortality rates is currently unclear. Ongoing clinical trials and further research may shed more light on the subject in the future.ConclusionBCG is a multifaceted vaccine, with many numerous potential applications to vaccination strategies being employed for current and future viral infections. There however is a need for further studies into the immunologic mechanisms behind these non-specific effects, for these potentials to become reality, as we usher in the beginning of the second century since the vaccine's discovery.

Dataset Information

Unmethylated CpG motif-containing genomic DNA fragments of bacillus calmette-guerin improves immune response towards a DNA vaccine for COVID-19.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets