Journal of Clinical Immunology and Allergy

Virus like particles as a scaffold for meningococcal vaccine development

European Congress on Vaccines & Vaccination and Gynecologic Oncology
October 26-27 ,2018 Budapest , Hungary

Murtala Jibril, Emil Carlsson, Sebastian Aston-Deaville, Jeremy Derrick

University of Manchester, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Journal of Clinical Immunology and Allergy

DOI: 10.21767/2471-304X-C2-006

Abstract

Neisseria meningitidis is a Gram-negative bacterium and causative agent of life-threatening meningococcal disease in humans (meningitis and septicaemia). The conventional approach of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) usage as a platform for meningococcal vaccines’ development has been very effective with serogroups A, C, W135 and Y, but limited effect with serogroup B (MenB) due to antigenic similarity of its CPS with human antigen. A well-studied virus-like particle (VLP), Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was used as a scaffold to incorporate meningococcal surface antigens. The VLP-antigen fusion proteins were expressed, purified and characterized by SDS-PAGE analysis, circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy. Uptake of the VLP-antigen fusion proteins by THP-1-derived dendritic cells and macrophages was carried out in vitro. Intracellular co-localization and upregulation of surface markers were assessed by cell culture, ImageStream and FACS analysis. The VLP-antigen proteins were shown to be taken up by clathrin- mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis and co-localized in lysosomes. They also significantly stimulate higher upregulation of HLA-DR, CD80, CD206 and CD209 on macrophages compared to the antigen alone.

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