GMMA as an alternative carrier for a glycoconjugate vaccine against Group A streptococcus
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes about 500,000 annual deaths globally, and no vaccines are currently available. The Group A Carbohydrate (GAC), conserved across all GAS serotypes, conjugated to an appropriate carrier protein, represents a promising vaccine candidate. Here, we explored the possibility to use Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) as an alternative carrier system for GAC, exploiting their intrinsic adjuvant properties. Immunogenicity of GAC-GMMA conjugate was evaluated in different animal species in comparison to GAC-CRM197; and the two conjugates were also compared from a techno-economic point of view. GMMA proved to be a good alternative carrier for GAC, resulting in a higher immune response compared to CRM197 in different mice strains, as verified by ELISA and FACS analyses. Differently from CRM197, GMMA induced significant levels of anti-GAC IgG titers in mice also in the absence of Alhydrogel. In rabbits, a difference in the immune response could not be appreciated; however, antibodies from GAC-GMMA-immunized animals showed higher affinity toward purified GAC antigen compared to those elicited by GAC-CRM197. In addition, the GAC-GMMA production process proved to be more cost-effective, making this conjugate particularly attractive for low- and middle-income countries, where this pathogen has a huge burden.
Date Issued
2022-07-01
Date Acceptance
2022-06-23
Citation
Vaccines, 2022, 10 (7), pp.1-17
ISSN
2076-393X
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
17
Journal / Book Title
Vaccines
Volume
10
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000834389700001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/R013764/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Immunology
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Research & Experimental Medicine
Group A Streptococcus
GMMA
glycoconjugate
Group A Carbohydrate
RHEUMATIC HEART-DISEASE
GENERALIZED MODULES
MEMBRANE-ANTIGENS
CELL
POLYSACCHARIDE
PATHOGENESIS
BURDEN
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 1034
Date Publish Online
2022-06-28