On the adjuvanticity of hyaluronan: The case of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Vaccines based on mRNA have been fundamental in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, however, they still raise concerns about stability and long-term efficacy. Thus, protein-based vaccines remain valid options and hence the study of effective adjuvants is crucial. Here, we developed a COVID-19 vaccine based on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, which is covalently conjugated to the natural polymer hyaluronan (HA) that acts as an immunological adjuvant. Vaccination of K18-hACE2 mice with HA-RBD was well tolerated, and elicited high and sustained titres of RBD-binding antibodies and SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies, without the addition of other immunostimulatory compounds. Most importantly, HA-RBD vaccination conferred long-term protection to K18-hACE2 mice after challenge with SARS-CoV-2, also in the case of two consequent infections driven by different variants. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of HA-based vaccination against COVID-19 disease, and support the promising use of HA as an efficient and well tolerated adjuvant.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Controlled Release
Published
2025-03-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2025.113674
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.59

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article

On the adjuvanticity of hyaluronan: The case of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Debora Carpanese, Silvia Dalla Santa, Antonella Grigoletto, Filippo Torrigiani et al.
2 citations
Journal of Controlled Release
Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
1.59
article

On the adjuvanticity of hyaluronan: The case of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Debora Carpanese, Silvia Dalla Santa, Antonella Grigoletto, Filippo Torrigiani, Gaia Zuccolotto, Vito Barbieri, Gianfranco Pasut, Francesco Bonfante, Antonio Rosato, Roberta Sommaggio, Alessandro Sinigaglia, Ranieri Verin, Bruno Martorelli Di Genova, Matteo Pagliari, Anna Dalla Pietà, Luisa Barzon, Alessandro Penna, Anna Tosi, Tamini Sofia, Stefania Vogiatzis
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Vaccines based on mRNA have been fundamental in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, however, they still raise concerns about stability and long-term efficacy. Thus, protein-based vaccines remain valid options and hence the study of effective adjuvants is crucial. Here, we developed a COVID-19 vaccine based on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, which is covalently conjugated to the natural polymer hyaluronan (HA) that acts as an immunological adjuvant. Vaccination of K18-hACE2 mice with HA-RBD was well tolerated, and elicited high and sustained titres of RBD-binding antibodies and SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies, without the addition of other immunostimulatory compounds. Most importantly, HA-RBD vaccination conferred long-term protection to K18-hACE2 mice after challenge with SARS-CoV-2, also in the case of two consequent infections driven by different variants. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of HA-based vaccination against COVID-19 disease, and support the promising use of HA as an efficient and well tolerated adjuvant.

Journal of Controlled ReleaseVol. 382
University of Padua (IT), Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IT), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT)
Horizon 2020
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
1.59
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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