%0 Journal Article
%T The Central Conserved Peptides of Respiratory Syncytial Virus G Protein Enhance the Immune Response to the RSV F Protein in an Adenovirus Vector Vaccine Candidate.
%A Chai P
%A Shi Y
%A Yu J
%A Liu X
%A Li D
%A Li J
%A Li L
%A Li D
%A Duan Z
%J Vaccines (Basel)
%V 12
%N 7
%D 2024 Jul 20
%M 39066445
%F 4.961
%R 10.3390/vaccines12070807
%X Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a serious human respiratory pathogen that commonly affects children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals. At present, the design of licensed vaccines focuses on the incorporation of the pre-fusion protein (PreF protein) of RSV, as this protein has the ability to induce antibodies that offer a high level of protection. Moreover, the G protein contains the CX3C motif that binds the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 in respiratory epithelial cells, which plays an essential role in viral infection. Therefore, incorporating the G antigen into vaccine design may prove more advantageous for RSV prevention. In this study, we developed a human adenoviral vector-based RSV vaccine containing highly neutralizing immunogens, a modified full-length PreF protein fused with the central conserved peptides of the G protein (Gcc) from both RSV subgroups trimerized via a C-terminal foldon, and evaluated its immune response in mice through intranasal (i.n.) immunization. Our results showed that immunization with Ad5-PreF-Qa-Gcc elicited a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response and robust mucosal immunity with higher neutralizing antibody titers against RSV Long and RSV B1. Importantly, immunization with Ad5-PreF-Qa-Gcc enhanced CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ Treg cell response and protected the mice against RSV infection. Our data demonstrate that the combination of Gcc and the PreF antigen is a viable strategy for developing effective RSV vaccines.