Multiviral Quartet Nanocages Elicit Broad Anti-Coronavirus Responses for Proactive Vaccinology

Abstract

Defending against future pandemics may require vaccine platforms that protect across a range of related pathogens. The presentation of multiple receptor-binding domains (RBDs) from evolutionarily-related viruses on a nanoparticle scaffold elicits a strong antibody response to conserved regions. Here we produce quartets of tandemly-linked RBDs from SARS-like betacoronaviruses coupled to the mi3 nanocage through a SpyTag/SpyCatcher spontaneous reaction. These Quartet Nanocages induce a high level of neutralizing antibodies against several different coronaviruses, including against viruses not represented on the vaccine. In animals primed with SARS-CoV-2 Spike, boost immunizations with Quartet Nanocages increased the strength and breadth of an otherwise narrow immune response. Quartet Nanocages are a strategy with potential to confer heterotypic protection against emergent zoonotic coronavirus pathogens and facilitate proactive pandemic protection. One Sentence SummaryA vaccine candidate with polyprotein antigens displayed on nanocages induces neutralizing antibodies to multiple SARS-like coronaviruses.