Universal coronavirus vaccine

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Transmission electron micrograph of a coronavirus. Coronaviruses 004 lores.jpg
Transmission electron micrograph of a coronavirus.

A universal coronavirus vaccine, also known as a pan-coronavirus vaccine, is a theoretical coronavirus vaccine that would be effective against all coronavirus strains. A universal vaccine would provide protection against coronavirus strains that have caused disease in humans, such as SARS-CoV-2 (including all its variants), while also providing protection against future coronavirus strains. Such a vaccine has been proposed to prevent or mitigate future coronavirus epidemics and pandemics. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Efforts to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine began in early 2020. [3] In December 2021, NIAID director Anthony Fauci, virologist Jeffery K. Taubenberger, and David M. Morens endorsed the development of durable universal coronavirus vaccines and advocated in favor of "an international collaborative effort to extensively sample coronaviruses from bats as well as wild and farmed animals to help understand the full 'universe' of existing and emerging coronaviruses", including already identified animal coronaviruses with pandemic potential. [6] [7] [8] In March 2022, the White House released the "National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan", which, in part, discusses plans to "accelerate research and development toward a single COVID vaccine that protects against SARS-CoV-2 and all its variants, as well as previous SARS-origin viruses". [9]

Strategies

One strategy for developing such vaccines was developed at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). It uses a spike ferritin-based nanoparticle (SpFN). This vaccine began a Phase I clinical trial in April 2022. [10]

Another is to attach vaccine fragments from multiple strains to a nanoparticle scaffold. One theory is that a broader range of strains can be vaccinated against by targeting the receptor-binding domain, rather than the whole spike protein. [11]

Projects

Pan-coronavirus vaccine candidates include variant-proof vaccines such as SpFN, developed by the US Army. It uses a ferritin nanoparticle with prefusion-stabilized spike antigens from the Wuhan strain. Another candidate is RBD–scNP, which is a sortase A-conjugated ferritin nanoparticle with receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigens. GRT-R910 is a self-amplifying mRNA delivering spike and T cell epitopes. hAd5-S+N delivers spike and nucleocapsid antigens via human adenovirus serotype 5 vector. MigVax-101 is an adjuvanted oral subunit vaccine with RBD and nucleocapsid domains. [12]

Among the pan-sarbecovirus vaccines are GBP511, a mosaic nanoparticle containing RBDs from SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and 1–2 bat coronaviruses. Another vaccine candidate, which is entering clinical development, [13] is Mosaic-8b, a mosaic nanoparticle containing RBDs from SARS-CoV-2 and 7 animal coronaviruses. [14] VBI-2901 uses virus-like particles expressing prefusion spike of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. [12] UB-612 contains SARS-CoV-2 S1-RBD protein and synthetic peptides representing T cell (Th and CTL) epitopes on the nucleocapsid, spike and membrane proteins. [15]

Pan-betacoronavirus vaccines include DIOS-CoVax, a needle-free antigen injection. [12]

The Interferon Beta Integrated SARS-CoV-2 (IBIS) vaccine takes its name from its comprising a live-but-defective SARS-CoV-2 virus that is envelope-deficient and has the ORF8 segment replaced by interferon-beta. Administered nasally, it protected humanized mice and hamsters from both SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus</span> Subfamily of viruses in the family Coronaviridae

Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold, while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19, which is causing the ongoing pandemic. In cows and pigs they cause diarrhea, while in mice they cause hepatitis and encephalomyelitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-related coronavirus</span> Species of coronavirus causing SARS and COVID-19

Severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome–related coronavirus is a species of virus consisting of many known strains. Two strains of the virus have caused outbreaks of severe respiratory diseases in humans: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1, which caused the 2002–2004 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is causing the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. There are hundreds of other strains of SARSr-CoV, which are only known to infect non-human mammal species: bats are a major reservoir of many strains of SARSr-CoV; several strains have been identified in Himalayan palm civets, which were likely ancestors of SARS-CoV-1.

<i>Coronaviridae</i> Family of viruses in the order Nidovirales

Coronaviridae is a family of enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses which infect amphibians, birds, and mammals. The group includes the subfamilies Letovirinae and Orthocoronavirinae; the members of the latter are known as coronaviruses.

<i>Murine coronavirus</i> Species of virus

Murine coronavirus (M-CoV) is a virus in the genus Betacoronavirus that infects mice. Belonging to the subgenus Embecovirus, murine coronavirus strains are enterotropic or polytropic. Enterotropic strains include mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strains D, Y, RI, and DVIM, whereas polytropic strains, such as JHM and A59, primarily cause hepatitis, enteritis, and encephalitis. Murine coronavirus is an important pathogen in the laboratory mouse and the laboratory rat. It is the most studied coronavirus in animals other than humans, and has been used as an animal disease model for many virological and clinical studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike protein</span> Glycoprotein spike on a viral capsid or viral envelope

In virology, a spike protein or peplomer protein is a protein that forms a large structure known as a spike or peplomer projecting from the surface of an enveloped virus. The proteins are usually glycoproteins that form dimers or trimers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccine</span> Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2

A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kizzmekia Corbett</span> American immunologist

Kizzmekia "Kizzy" Shanta Corbett is an American viral immunologist. She is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute since June 2021.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative</span> COVID-19 vaccine research organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant</span> Variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

The Beta variant, (B.1.351), was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in October 2020, which was reported by the country's health department on 18 December 2020. Phylogeographic analysis suggests this variant emerged in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in July or August 2020.

RmYN02 is a bat-derived strain of Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus. It was discovered in bat droppings collected between May and October 2019 from sites in Mengla County, Yunnan Province, China. It is the second-closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2, the virus strain that causes COVID-19, sharing 93.3% nucleotide identity at the scale of the complete virus genome. RmYN02 contains an insertion at the S1/S2 cleavage site in the spike protein, similar to SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that such insertion events can occur naturally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EpiVacCorona</span> EpiVacCorona vaccine against COVID-19

EpiVacCorona is a peptide-based vaccine against COVID-19 developed by the Russian VECTOR Center of Virology. The lack of protective effectiveness of EpiVacCorona, which is still in use in Russia, has been reported in scientific literature and in the media. The vaccine consists of three chemically synthesized peptides that are conjugated to a large carrier protein. This protein is a fusion product of a viral nucleocapsid protein and a bacterial MBP protein. A phase III clinical trial to show whether or not the vaccine can protect people against COVID-19 was launched in November 2020 with more than three thousand participants. The conclusions and results of the trial have not been made public.

RacCS203 is a bat-derived strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus collected in acuminate horseshoe bats from sites in Thailand and sequenced by Lin-Fa Wang's team. It has 91.5% sequence similarity to SARS-CoV-2 and is most related to the RmYN02 strain. Its spike protein is closely related to RmYN02's spike, both highly divergent from SARS-CoV-2's spike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UB-612</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walvax COVID-19 vaccine</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

AWcorna, originally termed ARCoV and also known as the Walvax COVID-19 vaccine, is an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by Walvax Biotechnology, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, and the PLA Academy of Military Science. In contrast to other mRNA COVID vaccines, such as those by Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna, this vaccine primarily targets the Sars-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, rather than the entire spike protein. It is approved for Phase III trials in China, Mexico, Indonesia, and Nepal.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus spike protein</span> Glycoprotein spike on a viral capsid or viral envelope

Spike (S) glycoprotein is the largest of the four major structural proteins found in coronaviruses. The spike protein assembles into trimers that form large structures, called spikes or peplomers, that project from the surface of the virion. The distinctive appearance of these spikes when visualized using negative stain transmission electron microscopy, "recalling the solar corona", gives the virus family its main name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ORF9b</span> Gene

ORF9b is a gene that encodes a viral accessory protein in coronaviruses of the subgenus Sarbecovirus, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It is an overlapping gene whose open reading frame is entirely contained within the N gene, which encodes coronavirus nucleocapsid protein. The encoded protein is 97 amino acid residues long in SARS-CoV and 98 in SARS-CoV-2, in both cases forming a protein dimer.

References

  1. ↑ Mullin E (2021-06-09). "A 'Universal' Coronavirus Vaccine to Prevent the Next Pandemic". Scientific American . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  2. ↑ Kirkendoll SM (2021-07-07). "New universal coronavirus vaccine could prevent future pandemics". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  3. 1 2 Joi P (2021-07-13). "Could a universal coronavirus vaccine soon be a reality?". GAVI . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. ↑ Le Page M (2021-11-10). "Covid-resistant people point way to universal coronavirus vaccine". New Scientist . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  5. ↑ Kwon D (2021-06-29). "The Quest for a Universal Coronavirus Vaccine". The Scientist . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  6. 1 2 Morens DM, Taubenberger JK, Fauci AS (January 2022). "Universal Coronavirus Vaccines - An Urgent Need". The New England Journal of Medicine. 386 (4): 297–299. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2118468 . PMID   34910863. S2CID   245219817.
  7. 1 2 "NIH scientists urge pursuit of universal coronavirus vaccine". National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2021-12-16. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  8. 1 2 Bush E (2021-12-15). "Fauci pushes for universal coronavirus vaccine". NBC News . Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  9. ↑ "National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan" (PDF). The White House. March 2022. pp. 9, 21, 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  10. ↑ "Phase 1 Clinical Trial of WRAIR-developed COVID-19 Vaccine Begins". April 5, 2022. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ Haridy R (7 July 2022). "Another universal coronavirus vaccine readies for human trials". New Atlas. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Dolgin E (May 2022). "Pan-coronavirus vaccine pipeline takes form". Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery. 21 (5): 324–326. doi: 10.1038/d41573-022-00074-6 . PMID   35440811. S2CID   248264237.
  13. ↑ "CEPI funds consortium led by CPI to advance Caltech's new all-in-one coronavirus vaccine". CEPI . 2022-05-07.
  14. ↑ Cohen AA, Gnanapragasam PN, Lee YE, Hoffman PR, Ou S, Kakutani LM, et al. (February 2021). "Mosaic nanoparticles elicit cross-reactive immune responses to zoonotic coronaviruses in mice". Science. 371 (6530): 735–741. Bibcode:2021Sci...371..735C. doi: 10.1126/science.abf6840 . PMC   7928838 . PMID   33436524.
  15. ↑ Wang CY, Hwang KP, Kuo HK, Peng WJ, Shen YH, Kuo BS, et al. (May 2022). "A multitope SARS-CoV-2 vaccine provides long-lasting B cell and T cell immunity against Delta and Omicron variants". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 132 (10). doi:10.1172/JCI157707. PMC   9106357 . PMID   35316221.
  16. ↑ Chun-Kit Yuen, Wan-Man Wong, Long-Fung Mak, Joy-Yan Lam, Lok-Yi Cheung, Derek Tsz-Yin Cheung, et al. (October 2023). "An interferon-integrated mucosal vaccine provides pan-sarbecovirus protection in small animal models". Nature Communications . 14 (6762): 6762. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14.6762Y. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42349-5 . PMC   10598001 . PMID   37875475.
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