Viruses, Vol. 15, Pages 555: RBD and Spike DNA-Based Immunization in Rabbits Elicited IgG Avidity Maturation and High Neutralizing Antibody Responses against SARS-CoV-2

Viruses, Vol. 15, Pages 555: RBD and Spike DNA-Based Immunization in Rabbits Elicited IgG Avidity Maturation and High Neutralizing Antibody Responses against SARS-CoV-2 Viruses doi: 10.3390/v15020555 Authors: Hernan H. M. da Costa Diego J. B. Orts Andrew D. Moura Amaro N. Duarte-Neto Cinthya S. Cirqueira Rodrigo A. Réssio Cristina T. Kanamura Karen Miguita Jerenice E. Ferreira Raimunda T. M. Santos Patricia P. Adriani Jair P. Cunha-Junior Renato M. Astray Regina M. Catarino Marcelo Lancelotti Carlos R. Prudencio Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are a critical part of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research as they are used to gain insight into the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. Among the technologies available for generating nAbs, DNA-based immunization methods are an alternative to conventional protocols. In this pilot study, we investigated whether DNA-based immunization by needle injection in rabbits was a viable approach to produce a functional antibody response. We demonstrated that three doses of DNA plasmid carrying the gene encoding the full-length spike protein (S) or the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 induced a time-dependent increase in IgG antibody avidity maturation. Moreover, the IgG antibodies displayed high cross neutralization by live SARS-CoV-2 and pseudoviruses neutralization assays. Thus, we established a simple, low cost and feasible...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Brief Report Source Type: research