Expression and Immune Effect of gE-Foldon Fusion Protein of Varicella Zoster Virus
Varicella-zoster virus(VZV)is the main pathogen that causes Herpes zoster(HZ)infection in the elderly worldwide.VZV gE protein is the main structural protein that induces immune responses in the body.Shingrix,a recombinant protein vaccine designed based on gE protein,has been approved for use in China.Several studies have shown that polymeric proteins can induce stronger immune responses.Herein,Chinese hamster ovarian cells CHO-S were used to express the Foldon domain-linked protein(ge-Foldon),Fc domain-linked protein(ge-Fc)and gE proteins.The immune effects of the three antigens(ge-Foldon,ge-Fc and gE)combined with AlOH+CpG adjuvant were compared in BALB/c mice.Meanwhile,commercial Shingrix was used as a control.Results from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and western blotting showed that the three antigens were successfully expressed and purified,and gE-Foldon was observed to be a trimer under non-reducing conditions.Compared with gE and ge-Fc antigens,ge-Foldon induced the highest titers of IgG antibodies(40492)and neutralizing antibodies(1190.5)in mice(P＜0.01),which were comparable to those induced by Shingrix.The number of interleukin IL-2 and IL-4 secreting lymphocytes induced by gE-Foldon was significantly higher than that of other immunization groups(P＜0.0001,P＜0.05).In conclusion,gE-Foldon protein in combination with AlOH+CpG adjuvant induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses and thus could be used as a potential vaccine candidate for the prevention of HZ infection.
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