Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.

Developing intranasal vaccines against pandemics and devastating airborne infectious diseases is imperative. The superiority of intranasal vaccines over injectable systemic vaccines is evident, but developing effective intranasal vaccines presents significant challenges. Fusing a protein antigen wit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Simson Tarigan, Gita Sekarmila, Apas, Sumarningsih, Ronald Tarigan, Riyandini Putri, Damai Ria Setyawati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306153
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841555502236958720
author Simson Tarigan
Gita Sekarmila
Apas
Sumarningsih
Ronald Tarigan
Riyandini Putri
Damai Ria Setyawati
author_facet Simson Tarigan
Gita Sekarmila
Apas
Sumarningsih
Ronald Tarigan
Riyandini Putri
Damai Ria Setyawati
author_sort Simson Tarigan
collection DOAJ
description Developing intranasal vaccines against pandemics and devastating airborne infectious diseases is imperative. The superiority of intranasal vaccines over injectable systemic vaccines is evident, but developing effective intranasal vaccines presents significant challenges. Fusing a protein antigen with the catalytic domain of cholera toxin (CTA1) and the two-domain D of staphylococcal protein A (DD) has significant potential for intranasal vaccines. In this study, we constructed two fusion proteins containing CTA1, tandem repeat linear epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S14P5 or S21P2), and DD. Structural predictions indicated that each component of the fusion proteins was compatible with its origin. In silico analyses predicted high solubility for both fusion proteins when overexpressed in Escherichia coli. However, contrary to these predictions, the constructs exhibited limited solubility. Lowering the cultivation temperature from 37°C to 18°C did not improve solubility. Inducing expression with IPTG at the early log phase significantly increased soluble CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD but not CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD. Adding non-denaturing detergents (Nonidet P40, Triton X100, or Tween 20) to the extraction buffer significantly enhanced solubility. Despite this, purification experiments yielded low amounts, only 1-2 mg/L of culture, due to substantial losses during the purification stages. These findings highlight the challenges and potential strategies for optimizing soluble expression of CTA1-DD fusion proteins for intranasal vaccines.
format Article
id doaj-art-00a9aa4904e24d09bf0b1071b11a17ce
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-00a9aa4904e24d09bf0b1071b11a17ce2025-01-08T05:32:33ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011912e030615310.1371/journal.pone.0306153Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.Simson TariganGita SekarmilaApasSumarningsihRonald TariganRiyandini PutriDamai Ria SetyawatiDeveloping intranasal vaccines against pandemics and devastating airborne infectious diseases is imperative. The superiority of intranasal vaccines over injectable systemic vaccines is evident, but developing effective intranasal vaccines presents significant challenges. Fusing a protein antigen with the catalytic domain of cholera toxin (CTA1) and the two-domain D of staphylococcal protein A (DD) has significant potential for intranasal vaccines. In this study, we constructed two fusion proteins containing CTA1, tandem repeat linear epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S14P5 or S21P2), and DD. Structural predictions indicated that each component of the fusion proteins was compatible with its origin. In silico analyses predicted high solubility for both fusion proteins when overexpressed in Escherichia coli. However, contrary to these predictions, the constructs exhibited limited solubility. Lowering the cultivation temperature from 37°C to 18°C did not improve solubility. Inducing expression with IPTG at the early log phase significantly increased soluble CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD but not CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD. Adding non-denaturing detergents (Nonidet P40, Triton X100, or Tween 20) to the extraction buffer significantly enhanced solubility. Despite this, purification experiments yielded low amounts, only 1-2 mg/L of culture, due to substantial losses during the purification stages. These findings highlight the challenges and potential strategies for optimizing soluble expression of CTA1-DD fusion proteins for intranasal vaccines.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306153
spellingShingle Simson Tarigan
Gita Sekarmila
Apas
Sumarningsih
Ronald Tarigan
Riyandini Putri
Damai Ria Setyawati
Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
PLoS ONE
title Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
title_full Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
title_fullStr Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
title_full_unstemmed Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
title_short Challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of CTA1-(S14P5)4-DD and CTA1-(S21P2)4-DD fusion proteins as candidates for COVID-19 intranasal vaccines.
title_sort challenges and strategies in the soluble expression of cta1 s14p5 4 dd and cta1 s21p2 4 dd fusion proteins as candidates for covid 19 intranasal vaccines
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306153
work_keys_str_mv AT simsontarigan challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT gitasekarmila challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT apas challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT sumarningsih challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT ronaldtarigan challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT riyandiniputri challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines
AT damairiasetyawati challengesandstrategiesinthesolubleexpressionofcta1s14p54ddandcta1s21p24ddfusionproteinsascandidatesforcovid19intranasalvaccines