Development of an RBD-Fc fusion vaccine for COVID-19

Abstract

Although the global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has passed, there are still regional outbreaks that continue to jeopardize human health. Hence, there is still a great deal of interest in developing an efficient vaccine that can quickly and effectively prevent reemerging outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2. Delta variant was once a dominant strain in the world in 2021, and we first constructed a recombinant RBDdelta-Fc fusion vaccine by coupling the RBD of Delta variant with the human Fc fragment. This Fc fusion strategy increases the immunogenicity of the recombinant RBD vaccine, with a long-lasting high level of IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies induced by RBDdelta-Fc vaccine. This RBDdelta-Fc vaccine, as well as the RBD-Fc vaccine prepared in our previously study, could trigger a durable immune effect by the heterologous boosting immunity, and the RBD-Fc induced a quicker humoral immune response than the homologous immunization with inactivated vaccines. In conclusion, the Fc fusion strategy has a significant role in enhancing the immunogenicity of recombinant protein vaccines, thus promising the development of a safe and efficient vaccine for the heterologous boosting against SARS-CoV-2.