Enhanced Vaccine Development through Optimized Antigen Display
JHU Ref #: C16777
Value Proposition
· Improved antigenicity due to increased cell surface expression of viral proteins
· Boosts vaccine efficacy
· Potential for integration into various vaccine platforms, including viral-mediated, mRNA-mediated, and DNA-mediated vaccines
Unmet Need
· The development of effective vaccines is often hindered by the challenge of ensuring robust antigen display on the cell surface.
· The current standard approaches, including traditional protein-based vaccines and expression-dependent platforms like viral-mediated, mRNA, and DNA vaccines, often struggle with insufficient antigen presentation, particularly in the face of viral mutations that reduce surface expression of key antigens.
· These limitations can result in decreased vaccine efficacy and reduced protection against emerging variants.
· Therefore, there is a strong need for innovative technologies that enhance antigen display and improve the overall effectiveness of vaccines against both existing and mutant strains.
Technology Description
· Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a novel approach to enhance the efficacy of expression-dependent vaccines by addressing the critical need for improved antigen display on the cell surface.
· This technology involves engineering endoplasmic reticulum export signals into the cytoplasmic tail of viral surface proteins, which leads to increased cell surface expression of these proteins.
· The enhanced surface display of viral proteins boosts the antigenicity and, consequently, the effectiveness of vaccines that rely on viral, mRNA, or DNA-mediated delivery systems.
· Preliminary data suggests that this approach improves overall vaccine efficacy and offers a potential solution to overcoming viral mutants that diminish surface antigen expression.
Stage of Development
· in vitro studies completed
· Ready for empirical testing in vaccine studies
Data Availability
Data available upon request.
Published PCT application.
