SARS-CoV-2-Specific Vaccine Candidates; the Contribution of Structural Vaccinology

S.M. Pack, P.J. Peters*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine production has taken us by storm. We aim to fill in the history of concepts and the work of pioneers and provide a framework of strategies employing structural vaccinology. Cryo-electron microscopy became crucial in providing three-dimensional (3D) structures and creating candidates eliciting T and B cell-mediated immunity. It also determined structural changes in the emerging mutants in order to design new constructs that can be easily, quickly and safely added to the vaccines. The full-length spike (S) protein, the S1 subunit and its receptor binding domain (RBD) of the virus are the best candidates. The vaccine development to cease this COVID-19 pandemic sets a milestone for the pan-coronavirus vaccine's designing and manufacturing. By employing structural vaccinology, we propose that the mRNA and the protein sequences of the currently approved vaccines should be modified rapidly to keep up with the more infectious new variants.
Original languageEnglish
Article number236
Number of pages17
JournalVaccines
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • structural vaccinology
  • COVID-19
  • vaccine
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • modern vaccine
  • S protein
  • S1 subunit
  • S2 subunit
  • pan-coronavirus vaccine
  • broad-spectrum vaccine
  • nucleic acid vaccine
  • recombinant protein vaccine
  • mRNA vaccine
  • vectored vaccine
  • receptor binding domain
  • RECEPTOR-BINDING DOMAIN
  • SPIKE PROTEIN
  • SARS-COV
  • CORONAVIRUS
  • MERS
  • SUBUNIT
  • DESIGN
  • ACE2

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