The Development of Epitope-Based Recombinant Protein Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2

Area of Science:

• Vaccinology
• Molecular Biology
• Immunology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic persists, driven by SARS-CoV-2 variants like Omicron.
• Current vaccines show declining efficacy against emerging strains, necessitating new approaches.
• Moderna's bivalent vaccine targets Wuhan and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains, but rapid mutation limits its long-term feasibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of recombinant protein vaccines for broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
• To evaluate different expression systems for large-scale recombinant protein vaccine production.
• To identify strategies for developing effective and scalable COVID-19 vaccines.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of PubMed and Google Scholar up to January 2024.
• Focused on recombinant protein vaccine development, production systems, and scalability challenges.
• Investigated in silico approaches for identifying conserved and immunogenic epitopes.

Main Results:

• Recombinant protein vaccine platforms have a successful clinical development history.
• In silico identification of conserved epitopes may offer broad protection but requires validation.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a promising host system for high-yield, cost-effective recombinant protein vaccine production.
• Current synthetic peptide vaccines are not feasible for large-scale immunization.

Conclusions:

• Recombinant protein vaccines incorporating conserved epitopes are a viable strategy against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
• Escherichia coli offers advantages in yield, purification, and cost for large-scale vaccine manufacturing.
• This approach can provide protection against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 D614G strain and its variants of concern.