Cellular and Humoral Immunogenicity of a Candidate DNA Vaccine Expressing SARS-CoV-2 Spike Subunit 1

Alluhaybi, Khalid A.; Alharbi, Rahaf H.; Alhabbab, Rowa Y.; Aljehani, Najwa D.; Alamri, Sawsan S.; Basabrain, Mohammad; Alharbi, Rehaf; Abdulaal, Wesam H.; Alfaleh, Mohamed A.; Tamming, Levi; Zhang, Wanyue; Hassanain, Mazen; Algaissi, Abdullah; Abuzenadah, Adel M.; Li, Xuguang; Hashem, Anwar M.

The urgent need for effective, safe and equitably accessible vaccines to tackle the ongoing spread of COVID-19 led researchers to generate vaccine candidates targeting varieties of immunogens of SARS-CoV-2. Because of its crucial role in mediating binding and entry to host cell and its proven safety profile, the subunit 1 (S1) of the spike protein represents an attractive immunogen for vaccine development. Here, we developed and assessed the immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine encoding the SARS-CoV-2 S1. Following in vitro confirmation and characterization, the humoral and cellular immune responses of our vaccine candidate (pVAX-S1) was evaluated in BALB/c mice using two different doses, 25 µg and 50 µg. Our data showed high levels of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies in mice immunized with three doses of pVAX-S1. Analysis of the induced IgG subclasses showed a Th1-polarized immune response, as demonstrated by the significant elevation of spike-specific IgG2a and IgG2b, compared to IgG1. Furthermore, we found that the immunization of mice with three doses of 50 µg of pVAX-S1 could elicit significant memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses. Taken together, our data indicate that pVAX-S1 is immunogenic and safe in mice and is worthy of further preclinical and clinical evaluation.