This study designs prefusion-stabilized HSV-2 gB antigens using structure-based methods and evaluates their immunogenicity, finding no improvement in neutralizing antibody titers compared to postfusion constructs.

Cell Reports · Sep 1, 2026Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

Design, Structure, and Immunogenicity of a Soluble Prefusion-stabilized EBV gB Antigen

Ryan S. McCool, Cory M. Acreman, Abigail E. Powell, Sofia I. Picucci, Daniel J Stieh, Jeremy Huynh, Hannah Caruso, Soyoon Park, Jessica O’Rear, Jui‐Lin Chen, Brad A. Palanski, Patrick O. Byrne, Madeline R. Sponholtz, Chia‐Wei Chou, Jeongryeol Kim, , Jason S. McLellan

This study designs and characterizes a prefusion-stabilized EBV gB antigen, showing improved immunogenicity and structural insights for vaccine development.

bioRxiv · May 19, 2025 · PreprintBiochemistry

A human cytomegalovirus prefusion-like glycoprotein B subunit vaccine elicits similar humoral immunity to that of postfusion gB in mice

Krithika P. Karthigeyan, Megan Connors, Christian R. Binuya, Mackensie Gross, Adelaide S. Fuller, Chelsea M. Crooks, Hsuan-Yuan Wang, Madeline R. Sponholtz, Patrick O. Byrne, Savannah L. Herbek, Caroline Andy, Linda M. Gerber, John D. Campbell, Caitlin A. Williams, Elizabeth O. Mitchell, , Sallie R. Permar

This study compares humoral immunity elicited by prefusion-like and postfusion forms of HCMV gB in mice, finding similar neutralization titers but differences in antibody binding and phagocytosis.

Journal of Virology · May 8, 2025Peer-reviewedImmunology

Structure-based design of a soluble human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B antigen stabilized in a prefusion-like conformation

Madeline R. Sponholtz, Patrick O. Byrne, Alison G. Lee, Ajit R. Ramamohan, Jory A. Goldsmith, Ryan S. McCool, Ling Zhou, Nicole V. Johnson, Ching-Lin Hsieh, Megan Connors, Krithika P. Karthigeyan, Chelsea M. Crooks, Adelaide S. Fuller, John D. Campbell, Sallie R. Permar, , Jason S. McLellan

This paper describes the stabilization of HCMV gB in a prefusion-like conformation using structure-based design and shows similar neutralizing antibody titers against postfusion and prefusion forms.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Sep 4, 2024Peer-reviewedMolecular Biology