Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs cost-effective and safe SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, antiviral, and therapeutic drugs to control it. In this study, we engineered the receptor bi...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/8/1595 |
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| author | Tarlan Mamedov Damla Yuksel Merve Ilgın Irem Gurbuzaslan Burcu Gulec Hazel Yetiskin Muhammet Ali Uygut Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel Aykut Ozdarendeli Gulshan Mammadova Deniz Say Gulnara Hasanova |
| author_facet | Tarlan Mamedov Damla Yuksel Merve Ilgın Irem Gurbuzaslan Burcu Gulec Hazel Yetiskin Muhammet Ali Uygut Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel Aykut Ozdarendeli Gulshan Mammadova Deniz Say Gulnara Hasanova |
| author_sort | Tarlan Mamedov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs cost-effective and safe SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, antiviral, and therapeutic drugs to control it. In this study, we engineered the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and produced it in the plant <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> in a glycosylated and deglycosylated form. Expression levels of both glycosylated (gRBD) and deglycosylated (dRBD) RBD were greater than 45 mg/kg fresh weight. The purification yields were 22 mg of pure protein/kg of plant biomass for gRBD and 20 mg for dRBD, which would be sufficient for commercialization of these vaccine candidates. The purified plant-produced RBD protein was recognized by an S protein-specific monoclonal antibody, demonstrating specific reactivity of the antibody to the plant-produced RBD proteins. The SARS-CoV-2 RBD showed specific binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 receptor. In mice, the plant-produced RBD antigens elicited high titers of antibodies with a potent virus-neutralizing activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that mice immunized with plant-produced deglycosylated RBD form elicited high titer of RBD-specific antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, obtained data support that plant-produced glycosylated and in vivo deglycosylated RBD antigens, developed in this study, are promising vaccine candidates for the prevention of COVID-19. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:17:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-061f16c705554ba09ca9f1265e6b8e3a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:17:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-061f16c705554ba09ca9f1265e6b8e3a2023-11-22T10:11:51ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-08-01138159510.3390/v13081595Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in MiceTarlan Mamedov0Damla Yuksel1Merve Ilgın2Irem Gurbuzaslan3Burcu Gulec4Hazel Yetiskin5Muhammet Ali Uygut6Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel7Aykut Ozdarendeli8Gulshan Mammadova9Deniz Say10Gulnara Hasanova11Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, TurkeyDepartment of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, TurkeyDepartment of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, TurkeyDepartment of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, TurkeyThe COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs cost-effective and safe SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, antiviral, and therapeutic drugs to control it. In this study, we engineered the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and produced it in the plant <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> in a glycosylated and deglycosylated form. Expression levels of both glycosylated (gRBD) and deglycosylated (dRBD) RBD were greater than 45 mg/kg fresh weight. The purification yields were 22 mg of pure protein/kg of plant biomass for gRBD and 20 mg for dRBD, which would be sufficient for commercialization of these vaccine candidates. The purified plant-produced RBD protein was recognized by an S protein-specific monoclonal antibody, demonstrating specific reactivity of the antibody to the plant-produced RBD proteins. The SARS-CoV-2 RBD showed specific binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 receptor. In mice, the plant-produced RBD antigens elicited high titers of antibodies with a potent virus-neutralizing activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that mice immunized with plant-produced deglycosylated RBD form elicited high titer of RBD-specific antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, obtained data support that plant-produced glycosylated and in vivo deglycosylated RBD antigens, developed in this study, are promising vaccine candidates for the prevention of COVID-19.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/8/1595COVID-19SARS-CoV-2spike proteinreceptor binding domain (RBD) vaccineplanttransient expression system |
| spellingShingle | Tarlan Mamedov Damla Yuksel Merve Ilgın Irem Gurbuzaslan Burcu Gulec Hazel Yetiskin Muhammet Ali Uygut Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel Aykut Ozdarendeli Gulshan Mammadova Deniz Say Gulnara Hasanova Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice Viruses COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) vaccine plant transient expression system |
| title | Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice |
| title_full | Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice |
| title_fullStr | Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice |
| title_short | Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice |
| title_sort | plant produced glycosylated and in vivo deglycosylated receptor binding domain proteins of sars cov 2 induce potent neutralizing responses in mice |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) vaccine plant transient expression system |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/8/1595 |
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