Immunogenicity of candidate SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccines based on the spike protein

Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the novel human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently a major threat to public health worldwide. To deal with the needs of vaccine, we developed four DNA vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2, based on the full-length spike (S) or truncated S protein. Following mice vaccination, we measured T-cell response and antigen-specific neutralizing antibody (NAb) titer. All four candidates induced humoral immune responses, including elevated levels of total IgG and NAbs, and cell-mediated immune responses, including multiple cytokine expression. However, the full-length S DNA vaccine enhanced the immune responses most significantly. We then evaluated its appropriate antigen dose and vaccination schedule. Although all immunized groups showed higher immune response than the control group, inoculation with 50 μg antigen led to the highest NAb titer. Immunity was significantly increased after the third inoculation. Thus, the full-length S DNA vaccine can potentially prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. •We developed four DNA vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 based on spike protein.•They induced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.•Inoculation with 50 μg antigen led to the highest neutralizing antibody titer.•Full-length spike DNA vaccine can potentially prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.