A SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine protects hamsters against Alpha and Beta virus variant challenge

Kathryn McGuckin Wuertz; Erica K Barkei; Wei-Hung Chen; Elizabeth J Martinez; Ines Lakhal-Naouar; Linda L Jagodzinski; Dominic Paquin-Proulx; Gregory D Gromowski; Isabella Swafford; Akshaya Ganesh; Ming Dong; Xiankun Zeng; Paul V Thomas; Rajeshwer S Sankhala; Agnes Hajduczki; Caroline E Peterson; Caitlin Kuklis; Sandrine Soman; Lindsay Wieczorek; Michelle Zemil; Alexander Anderson; Janice Darden; Heather Hernandez; Hannah Grove; Vincent Dussupt; Holly Hack; Rafael de la Barrera; Stasya Zarling; James F Wood; Jeffrey W Froude; Matthew Gagne; Amy R Henry; Elham Bayat Mokhtari; Prakriti Mudvari; Shelly J Krebs; Andrew S Pekosz; Jeffrey R Currier; Swagata Kar; Maciel Porto; Adrienne Winn; Kamil Radzyminski; Mark G Lewis; Sandhya Vasan; Mehul Suthar; Victoria R Polonis; Gary R Matyas; Eli A Boritz; Daniel C Douek; Robert A Seder; Sharon P Daye; Mangala Rao; Sheila A Peel; M Gordon Joyce; Diane L Bolton; Nelson L Michael; Kayvon Modjarrad

doi:10.1038/s41541-021-00392-7

A SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine protects hamsters against Alpha and Beta virus variant challenge

NPJ Vaccines. 2021 Oct 28;6(1):129. doi: 10.1038/s41541-021-00392-7.

Authors

Kathryn McGuckin Wuertz¹, Erica K Barkei², Wei-Hung Chen^{3

4}, Elizabeth J Martinez^{3

4}, Ines Lakhal-Naouar^{4

5}, Linda L Jagodzinski⁵, Dominic Paquin-Proulx^{1

4}, Gregory D Gromowski⁶, Isabella Swafford^{1

4}, Akshaya Ganesh^{1

7}, Ming Dong^{1

4}, Xiankun Zeng⁸, Paul V Thomas^{3

4}, Rajeshwer S Sankhala^{3

4}, Agnes Hajduczki^{3

4}, Caroline E Peterson^{3

4}, Caitlin Kuklis⁶, Sandrine Soman⁶, Lindsay Wieczorek^{1

4}, Michelle Zemil^{1

4}, Alexander Anderson^{3

7}, Janice Darden^{4

5}, Heather Hernandez^{4

5}, Hannah Grove^{4

5}, Vincent Dussupt^{1

4}, Holly Hack^{4

5}, Rafael de la Barrera⁹, Stasya Zarling⁹, James F Wood⁹, Jeffrey W Froude⁹, Matthew Gagne¹⁰, Amy R Henry¹⁰, Elham Bayat Mokhtari¹¹, Prakriti Mudvari¹¹, Shelly J Krebs^{1

4}, Andrew S Pekosz¹², Jeffrey R Currier⁶, Swagata Kar¹³, Maciel Porto¹³, Adrienne Winn¹³, Kamil Radzyminski¹³, Mark G Lewis¹³, Sandhya Vasan⁴, Mehul Suthar¹⁴, Victoria R Polonis¹, Gary R Matyas¹, Eli A Boritz¹¹, Daniel C Douek¹⁰, Robert A Seder¹⁵, Sharon P Daye¹⁶, Mangala Rao¹, Sheila A Peel⁵, M Gordon Joyce^#^{3

4}, Diane L Bolton^#^{1

4}, Nelson L Michael^#¹⁷, Kayvon Modjarrad^#¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
² Veterinary Pathology Division, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
³ Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
⁴ Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ Diagnostics Countermeasures Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
⁶ Virus Diseases Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
⁷ Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
⁸ Pathology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA.
⁹ Pilot Bioproduction Facility, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
¹⁰ Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹¹ Virus Persistence and Dynamics Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹² W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹³ BioQual, Inc., Rockville, MD, USA.
¹⁴ Emory Vaccine Center, Department of Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁵ Cellular Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹⁶ One Health Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
¹⁷ Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA. nelson.l.michael2.civ@mail.mil.
¹⁸ Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA. kayvon.modjarrad.civ@mail.mil.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) requires adequate coverage of vaccine protection. We evaluated whether a SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle vaccine (SpFN), adjuvanted with the Army Liposomal Formulation QS21 (ALFQ), conferred protection against the Alpha (B.1.1.7), and Beta (B.1.351) VOCs in Syrian golden hamsters. SpFN-ALFQ was administered as either single or double-vaccination (0 and 4 week) regimens, using a high (10 μg) or low (0.2 μg) dose. Animals were intranasally challenged at week 11. Binding antibody responses were comparable between high- and low-dose groups. Neutralizing antibody titers were equivalent against WA1, B.1.1.7, and B.1.351 variants following two high dose vaccinations. Dose-dependent SpFN-ALFQ vaccination protected against SARS-CoV-2-induced disease and viral replication following intranasal B.1.1.7 or B.1.351 challenge, as evidenced by reduced weight loss, lung pathology, and lung and nasal turbinate viral burden. These data support the development of SpFN-ALFQ as a broadly protective, next-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.