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- Title
Enhanced stability of the SARS CoV-2 spike glycoprotein following modification of an alanine cavity in the protein core.
- Authors
Poumbourios, Pantelis; Langer, Christine; Boo, Irene; Zakir, Tasnim; Center, Rob J.; Akerman, Anouschka; Milogiannakis, Vanessa; Aggarwal, Anupriya; Johnstone, Bronte A.; Ha, Jungmin; Coulibaly, Fasséli; Turville, Stuart G.; Drummer, Heidi E.
- Abstract
The spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS CoV-2 is the target of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) that are crucial for vaccine effectiveness. The S1 subunit binds ACE2 while the S2 subunit mediates virus-cell membrane fusion. S2 is a class I fusion glycoprotein subunit and contains a central coiled coil that acts as a scaffold for the conformational changes associated with fusion function. The coiled coil of S2 is unusual in that the 3–4 repeat of inward-facing positions are mostly occupied by polar residues that mediate few inter-helical contacts in the prefusion trimer. We examined how insertion of bulkier hydrophobic residues (Val, Leu, Ile, Phe) to fill a cavity next to Ala1016 and Ala1020 in the 3–4 repeat affects the stability and antigenicity of S trimers. Substitution of Ala1016 with bulkier hydrophobic residues in the context of a prefusion-stabilized S trimer, S2P-FHA, was associated with increased thermal stability. S glycoprotein membrane fusion function was retained with Ala1016/Ala1020 cavity-filling mutations associated with improved recombinant S2P-FHA thermostability, however 2 mutants, A1016L and A1016V/A1020I, lacked ability to mediate entry of S-HIV-1 pseudoparticles into 293-ACE2 cells. When assessed as immunogens, two thermostable S2P-FHA mutants derived from the ancestral isolate, A1016L (16L) and A1016V/A1020I (VI) elicited neutralizing antibody with 50%-inhibitory dilutions (ID50s) in the range 2,700–5,110 for ancestral and Delta-derived viruses, and 210–1,744 for Omicron BA.1. The antigens elicited antibody specificities directed to the receptor-binding domain (RBD), N-terminal domain (NTD), fusion peptide and stem region of S2. The VI mutation enabled the production of intrinsically stable Omicron BA.1 and Omicron BA.4/5 S2P-FHA-like ectodomain oligomers in the absence of an external trimerization motif (T4 foldon), thus representing an alternative approach for stabilizing oligomeric S glycoprotein vaccines. Author summary: First-generation SARS CoV-2 vaccines that generate immune responses to ancestral Spike glycoprotein sequences have averted at least 14.4 million deaths, but their effectiveness against the recently emerged Omicron lineages is reduced. The updating of booster vaccines with variant Spike sequences are therefore likely required to maintain population immunity as the pandemic continues to evolve. The Spike is a trimeric integral membrane protein with a membrane spanning sequence at its C-terminus. The Spike protein-based vaccine that is currently licensed for human use is produced by a complex process that reconstitutes the Spike in an adjuvanted nanoparticle. Alternatively, production of the Spike trimer as a soluble protein generally requires replacement of the membrane spanning sequence with a foreign often highly immunogenic trimerization motif that can complicate clinical advancement. We used systematic structure-directed mutagenesis coupled with functional studies to identify an alternative stabilization approach that negates the requirement for an external trimerization motif or membrane-spanning sequence. The replacement of 2 alanine residues that are associated with a cavity in the core of the Spike trimer with bulkier hydrophobic residues resulted in increased Spike thermal stability. Thermostable Spike mutants retained major conserved neutralizing antibody epitopes and the ability to elicit broad neutralizing antibody responses. One such mutation, referred to as VI, enabled the production of intrinsically stable Omicron variant Spike ectodomain oligomers in the absence of an external trimerization motif. The VI mutation potentially enables a simplified method for producing a stable oligomeric S ectodomain glycoprotein vaccine.
- Subjects
SARS-CoV-2; IMMUNOSPECIFICITY; SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant; BOOSTER vaccines; MEMBRANE proteins; MONOCLONAL antibodies; IMMUNOGLOBULINS
- Publication
PLoS Pathogens, 2023, Vol 18, Issue 5, p1
- ISSN
1553-7366
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.ppat.1010981