ИСТИНА

There are a number of virus infections that are caused by viruses with high antigenic variability. This could provide obstacles for preventing these diseases by vaccination because of the discrepancy of antigen sequence within vaccine and circulating virus strains. Protein subunit vaccines are characterized with the best safety profile, simplicity of production and are a promising tool for the development of wide spectrum vaccines. In the present study two approaches were applied to design synthetic antigens — the application of a highly conserved neutralizing epitopes and the use of the consensus sequences. Universal recombinant rotavirus A antigen – URRA was produced. For the URRA the recognition by antisera to patient-derived field rotavirus isolates were proven. The often problem in developing subunit vaccines is low immunogenicity of individual recombinant proteins. Here, we used a unique protein adjuvant – spherical particles (SPs), which is structurally modified plant virus. SPs effectively improved the production of antibodies specific to the URRA. It provides evidence that the development of subunit protein vaccines with the application of synthetic biology approach is a promising strategy for highly cross-reactive vaccine creation.