Vaccine nanoparticles displaying recombinant Ebola virus glycoprotein for induction of potent antibody and polyfunctional T cell responses

• DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2018.11.005
• Publication Date: 2018-11-22T11:19:01Z
• Authors: Joseph D. Bazzill; Sabrina M. Stronsky; Laura C. Kalinyak; Lukasz J. Ochyl; Jesse T. Steffens; Sean A. van Tongeren; Christopher L. Co...; James J. Moon
• Keywords: Ebola vaccine; Ebolavirus

The recent outbreaks of Ebolavirus (EBOV) in West Africa underscore the urgent need to develop an effective EBOV vaccine. Here, we report the development of synthetic nanoparticles as a safe and highly immunogenic platform for vaccination against EBOV. We show that a large recombinant EBOV antigen (rGP) can be incorporated in a configurational manner into lipid-based nanoparticles, termed interbilayer-crosslinked multilamellar vesicles (ICMVs). The epitopes and quaternary structure of rGP were properly maintained on the surfaces of ICMVs formed either with or without nickel nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-functionalized lipids. When administered in mice, rGP-ICMVs without NTA-lipids efficiently generated germinal center B cells and polyfunctional T cells while eliciting robust neutralizing antibody responses. This study suggests the potential of vaccine nanoparticles as a delivery platform for configurational, multivalent display of large subunit antigens and induction of neutralizing antibody and T cell responses.