Nanovaccine based on self-assembling nonstructural protein 1 boosts antibody responses to Zika virus

Self-assembling proteins may be generated after the addition of short specific amino acid sequences at both the N- and C-terminal ends. To date, this approach has not been evaluated regarding the impact of self-assembled proteins on the induction of immune responses. In the present study, we report the application of this experimental approach to the immunogenicity of protein antigens by measuring the antibody responses in mice immunized with nanoparticles made with a recombinant form of Zika virus nonstructural protein 1 (∆NS1). The results clearly indicated that ∆NS1-derived nanoparticles (NP-∆NS1) are assembled into a 3-dimensional structure with a high degree of multimerization. While ∆NS1 proved to be a weak immunogen, immunization with NP-∆NS1 enhanced subunit vaccines' immunogenicity with improved longevity in vaccinated mice. Thus, immunization with self-assembled antigens (nanovaccines) represents a new and promising strategy to enhance NS1-specific antibodies' induction based on purified recombinant proteins. A nanovaccine based on Zika virus nonstructural protein 1 was successfully generated and used to immunize mice. It is the proof of concept that self-assembling protein nanoparticles can boost antibody production and increase the efficiency of subunit vaccines. [Display omitted] •A recombinant fragment of zika virus NS1 protein was modified to self-assemble in nanoparticles;•Multimerization in the NS1 nanoparticles increased thermo-stability of the protein but did not reduce the protein antigenicity;•Self-assembly of the nanoparticles was highly tunable depending on buffer conditions;•The resulting nanovaccine induced high antigen-specific antibody titers in vaccinated mice;•The results represent a proof of concept for the nanovaccine approach as a platform to boost immunological responses to vaccine antigens.