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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1500622

Assessment of heat-killed E. coli expressing Chikungunya virus E2 protein as a candidate vaccine for dual protection against Chikungunya virus and E. coli

Provisionally accepted
Surajit Patra Surajit Patra Virendra Gajbhiye Virendra Gajbhiye *Yogesh A. Karpe Yogesh A. Karpe *
  • Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus with a long history of recurring epidemics transmitted through Aedes mosquitoes. The rapid spread of CHIKV has intensified the need for potent vaccines. Escherichia coli, a vital part of human gut microbiota, is utilized in recombinant DNA technology for cloning. However, its high adaptability can lead to severe infections in humans. This study aimed to develop the candidate dual vaccine against CHIKV and E. coli. For this, we expressed the CHIKV E2 protein in the E. coli Rosetta Bl21 cells and the protein expression was confirmed by western blotting. The IgG immune response of the candidate vaccine was determined against CHIKV and E. coli by ELISA. Further, the potential of antibodies to neutralize CHIKV was evaluated via Tissue Culture Infectious Dose 50 (TCID50). We observed that cells expressing E2 protein with alum immunized mice serum showed a five-fold higher IgG immune response against CHIKV, compared to control cells.The CHIKV neutralization assay results showed a two-fold decrease in CHIKV TCID50 value after 12 hours and a five-fold reduction after 120 hours. Similarly, the vaccine formulation also elicited a significantly higher IgG immune response against E. coli. The results suggested that expressing CHIKV E2 protein in E. coli is a potential approach for generating an IgG immune response against CHIKV and E. coli both. This study proposes a faster, safer, and costeffective recombinant protein-based vaccine development.

    Keywords: CHIKV, E2 protein, E. coli, Heat-killed, Vaccine

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 06 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Patra, Gajbhiye and Karpe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Virendra Gajbhiye, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India
    Yogesh A. Karpe, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.