Self-assembling SARS-CoV-2 spike-HBsAg nanoparticles elicit potent and durable neutralizing antibody responses via genetic delivery

Abstract

While several COVID-19 vaccines have been in use, more effective and durable vaccines are needed to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we report highly immunogenic self-assembling SARS-CoV-2 spike-HBsAg nanoparticles displaying a six-proline-stabilized WA1 (wild type, WT) spike S6P on a HBsAg core. These S6P-HBsAgs bound diverse domain-specific SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies. In mice with and without a HBV pre-vaccination, DNA immunization with S6P-HBsAgs elicited significantly more potent and durable neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses against diverse SARS-CoV-2 strains than that of soluble S2P or S6P, or full-length S2P with its coding sequence matching mRNA-1273. The nAb responses elicited by S6P-HBsAgs persisted substantially longer than by soluble S2P or S6P and appeared to be enhanced by HBsAg pre-exposure. These data show that genetic delivery of SARS-CoV-2 S6P-HBsAg nanoparticles can elicit greater and more durable nAb responses than non-nanoparticle forms of stabilized spike. Our findings highlight the potential of S6P-HBsAgs as next generation genetic vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2.