7.Structure, Immunogenicity, and Protective Mechanism of an Engineered Enterovirus 71-Like Particle Vaccine Mimicking 80S Empty Capsid
Xiaoli Wanga,d, Zhiqiang Kua,d, Xiang Zhangb,d, Xiaohua Yea, Jinhuan Chenb,d, Qingwei Liua, Wei Zhanga,d, Chao Zhanga, Zhenglin Fub,c, Xia Jina, Yao Congb,c and Zhong Huanga
aUnit of Vaccinology and Antiviral Strategies, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
bNational Center for Protein Science Shanghai, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
cShanghai Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
dUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
ABSTRACT
Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major causative agent of severe hand, foot, and mouth disease, which affects millions of young children in the Asia-Pacific region annually. In this study, we engineered a novel EV71 virus-like particle (VLP) that lacks VP4 (therefore designated VLPΔVP4) and investigated its structure, antigenicity, and vaccine potential. The cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of VLPΔVP4 was reconstructed to 3.71-Å resolution. Results from structural and biochemical analyses revealed that VLPΔVP4 resembles the end product of the viral uncoating process, the 80S empty capsid. VLPΔVP4 is able to elicit high-titer neutralizing antibodies and to fully protect mice against lethal viral challenge. Mechanistic studies showed that, at the cellular level, the anti-VLPΔVP4 sera exert neutralization effects at both pre- and postattachment stages by inhibiting both virus attachment and internalization, and at the molecular level, the antisera can block multiple interactions between EV71 and its key receptors. Our study gives a better understanding of EV71 capsid assembly and provides important information for the design and development of new-generation vaccines for EV71, and perhaps for other enteroviruses, as well.
Address correspondence to Yao Cong, cong@sibcb.ac.cn, or Zhong Huang, huangzhong@ips.ac.cn.
X.W., Z.K., and X.Z. contributed equally to this work.
Citation Wang X, Ku Z, Zhang X, Ye X, Chen J, Liu Q, Zhang W, Zhang C, Fu Z, Jin X, Cong Y, Huang Z. 2018. Structure, immunogenicity, and protective mechanism of an engineered enterovirus 71-like particle vaccine mimicking 80S empty capsid. J Virol 92:e01330-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01330-17.
|