Envelope Proteins in Hantaan Virus (HTNV)

HTNV consists of glycoprotein (GP), nucleocapsid protein (NP), etc. GP constitutes the major antigen of HTNV. It can be broken down into envelope glycoprotein-N-terminal (Gn) and envelope glycoprotein-C-terminal (Gc). Gn and Gc are one of the most critical structural proteins of HTNV. Both proteins recognize and bind cell surface receptors. They play a critical role in the process of viral invasion and infection of the organism's cells. It is found that Gc and Gn have certain advantages in inducing specific antibodies and in cellular immunity. So, they are ideal HTNV immunogen design targets. The researchers produced these two proteins through prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems to prepare vaccines. It is found that the constructed chimeric vaccine of Gc, lysosome-associated membrane proteins, and Gn could produce long-term immunoprotective efficacy in mice.

HTNV Vaccine Development Service at CD BioGlyco

CD BioGlyco has a well-established platform for the development of sugar-related vaccines. Gn and Gc are potential research sites for HTNV vaccines. We provide Glycoprotein Vaccine development services based on Gc and Gn.

Fig.1 Process of HTNV protein vaccine development. (CD BioGlyco)

In existing epitope studies, screening and identification of epitopes cannot fully reveal epitope properties. To obtain advantageous epitopes with high affinity and strong immunogenicity, we perform comparative analyses of epitopes in each genotype. Afterward, we construct recombinant plasmids by combining Gn and Gc genes with other genes. The recombinant plasmids are transferred to the eukaryotic system for expression. After purification and characterization, we test the immunoprotective efficacy in mice. We have a well-established system for evaluating vaccines, and the following experiments are performed.

• Evaluation of humoral immune responses by measuring specific and neutralizing antibody potency.
• Evaluation of cellular immunity by enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISpot).
• The preliminary safety evaluation is performed by histological observation.
• The in vivo infection model is established. The immunoprotective efficacy in vivo is evaluated by the attack test after prophylactic immunization.

Publication

Applications

• Our HTNV vaccine development services include the production of recombinant Gn and Gc proteins, which play an important role in the development of safe, cost-effective, simple, and rapid HTNV assays.
• Our recombinant Gn and Gc proteins play an important role in the development of anti-HTNV monoclonal antibodies.

Advantages of Us

• We have a variety of eukaryotic expression systems to choose from, including Mammalian expression systems, Plant expression systems, insect expression systems, Yeast expression systems, etc.
• The eukaryotic expression systems we use have obvious advantages over bacterial expression systems, which are capable of complete protein folding, assembly, post-translational modification, etc.
• We improve the expression of proteins through vector design, optimization of culture conditions, and other operations. At the same time, we can quickly and efficiently screen and obtain high-expression stable strains.

CD BioGlyco has established a comprehensive sugar-related Vaccine Development Service to help our clients develop novel vaccines. Vaccine design, immune response analysis, vaccine efficacy, etc., studies are all completed at CD BioGlyco. Through our meticulous analytical solutions, the quality of the vaccine will be guaranteed at the highest level. Please feel free to contact us for more information on vaccine development.

Reference

1. Liu, R.; et al. Investigation of a subunit protein vaccine for HFRS based on a consensus sequence between envelope glycoproteins of HTNV and SEOV. Virus Res. 2023, 334: 199149.