ABSTRACT
Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) pose a significant threat to human health, with high mortality rates, and require effective vaccines. We showed that, harnessed with novel RNA-mediated chaperone function, hemagglutinin (HA) of H5N1 HPAIV could be displayed as an immunologically relevant conformation on self-assembled chimeric nanoparticles (cNP). A tri-partite monomeric antigen was designed including: i) an RNA-interaction domain (RID) as a docking tag for RNA to enable chaperna function (chaperna: chaperone + RNA), ii) globular head domain (gd) of HA as a target antigen, and iii) ferritin as a scaffold for 24 mer-assembly. The immunization of mice with the nanoparticles (~46 nm) induced a 25-30 fold higher neutralizing capacity of the antibody and provided cross-protection from homologous and heterologous lethal challenges. This study suggests that cNP assembly is conducive to eliciting antibodies against the conserved region in HA, providing potent and broad protective efficacy.
Subject(s)
Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/immunology , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/drug effects , Influenza Vaccines/immunology , Influenza in Birds/immunology , RNA/immunology , Animals , Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology , Antibodies, Neutralizing/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Viral/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/therapeutic use , Birds/virology , Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/genetics , Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/therapeutic use , Humans , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/immunology , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/pathogenicity , Influenza Vaccines/chemistry , Influenza Vaccines/therapeutic use , Influenza in Birds/prevention & control , Influenza in Birds/virology , Mice , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Nanoparticles/therapeutic use , Pandemics , RNA/genetics , RNA/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Emerging evidence indicates a fundamental role for the epigenome in immunity. Here, we mapped the epigenomic and transcriptional landscape of immunity to influenza vaccination in humans at the single-cell level. Vaccination against seasonal influenza induced persistently diminished H3K27ac in monocytes and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs), which was associated with impaired cytokine responses to Toll-like receptor stimulation. Single-cell ATAC-seq analysis revealed an epigenomically distinct subcluster of monocytes with reduced chromatin accessibility at AP-1-targeted loci after vaccination. Similar effects were observed in response to vaccination with the AS03-adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine. However, this vaccine also stimulated persistently increased chromatin accessibility at interferon response factor (IRF) loci in monocytes and mDCs. This was associated with elevated expression of antiviral genes and heightened resistance to the unrelated Zika and Dengue viruses. These results demonstrate that vaccination stimulates persistent epigenomic remodeling of the innate immune system and reveal AS03's potential as an epigenetic adjuvant.
Subject(s)
Epigenomics , Immunity/genetics , Influenza Vaccines/genetics , Influenza Vaccines/immunology , Single-Cell Analysis , Transcription, Genetic , Vaccination , Adolescent , Adult , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Antigens, CD34/metabolism , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Cellular Reprogramming , Chromatin/metabolism , Cytokines/biosynthesis , Drug Combinations , Female , Gene Expression Regulation , Histones/metabolism , Humans , Immunity, Innate/genetics , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/drug effects , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/immunology , Interferon Type I/metabolism , Male , Myeloid Cells/metabolism , Polysorbates/pharmacology , Squalene/pharmacology , Toll-Like Receptors/metabolism , Transcription Factor AP-1/metabolism , Transcriptome/genetics , Young Adult , alpha-Tocopherol/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with a wide variety of neurological complications. Even though SARS-CoV-2 is rarely detected in the central nervous system (CNS) or cerebrospinal fluid, evidence is accumulating that SARS-CoV-2 might enter the CNS via the olfactory nerve. However, what happens after SARS-CoV-2 enters the CNS is poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the replication kinetics, cell tropism, and associated immune responses of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different types of neural cultures derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). SARS-CoV-2 was compared to the neurotropic and highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus. SARS-CoV-2 infected a minority of individual mature neurons, without subsequent virus replication and spread, despite angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), and neuropilin-1 (NPR1) expression in all cultures. However, this sparse infection did result in the production of type III interferons and interleukin-8 (IL-8). In contrast, H5N1 virus replicated and spread very efficiently in all cell types in all cultures. Taken together, our findings support the hypothesis that neurological complications might result from local immune responses triggered by virus invasion, rather than abundant SARS-CoV-2 replication in the CNS. IMPORTANCE Infections with the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are often associated with neurological complications. Evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 enters the brain via the olfactory nerve; however, SARS-CoV-2 is only rarely detected in the central nervous system of COVID-19 patients. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 is able to infect neurons of human iPSC neural cultures but that this infection is abortive and does not result in virus spread to other cells. However, infection of neural cultures did result in the production of type III interferon and IL-8. This study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 might enter the CNS and infect individual neurons, triggering local immune responses that could contribute to the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2-associated CNS disease.