Current vaccines to protect against SARS-CoV-2 rely on the immunogenicity conferred by the viral Spike protein, the main viral target against which the elicitation of neutralizing and protective antibodies is intended through vaccination.
The Spike presents an extremely high affinity for the human ACE-2 (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2) receptor, which has been reported to be expressed in diverse layers of the organism, such as the epidermis, endothelium, muscle and sweat glands.
Such a strong affinity between both proteins, the Spike and ACE-2, might lead to the retention of the immunogen and a suboptimal distribution to reach the lymph nodes, key for a robust immune response. Thus, we propose modifications in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike vaccine protein that reduces the affinity for ACE-2 while preserving key epitopes for elicitation of neutralizing antibodies. This technology lies in minimal modifications of the Spike protein sequences that reduce ACE-2 binding, leading to the aforementioned proposed advantages at the immunological level in this new vaccination strategy.
To date, accurate biochemical experiments to show a reduced ACE-2 binding capacity for our vaccine candidates have been carried out to demonstrate the viability of the proposed solution, the results of which have been surprising in terms of confirming the initial hypothesis.
The next step will assess the potential of our new vaccine candidates in experimental in vivo models. These experiments need to be carried out to confirm the feasibility and the good results demonstrated in vitro, to advance with the development of the product together with a company that licensees the technology later on.
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Navarrabiomed is a public biomedical research center created by the Government of Navarre’s Ministry of Health in 2012. Its mission is to promote, facilitate and perform leading-edge biomedical research to develop and implement innovative therapies that improve the quality of public healthcare.
In 2016, Navarrabiomed signed an agreement with the Universidad Pública de Navarra for Navarrabiomed to become a public center with the aim of promoting biomedical research and boosting the competitiveness of the region’s biohealth industry.
The center is currently organized in 20 research units and six technical and scientific services to promote scientific research and technological development: Biobank, Clinical Trials, Methodology - Health Services Research, Proteomics, Animal Lab and Experimental Operating Theater, and the CellMa Clean Room for Advanced Therapies. A total of 140 researchers are involved in providing these services. Through its support units, Navarrabiomed facilitates and promotes research carried out by more than 250 healthcare professionals from other public centers in the region.
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