Varicella Zoster Virus gE Antigen Variant Truncation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current vaccines for varicella and herpes zoster have stability issues and low immunogenicity, with live attenuated vaccines posing safety concerns and protein antigens lacking sufficient immunogenicity.
Innovation Solution
Development of a Varicella Zoster Virus surface protein antigen variant with high expression levels and immunogenicity, achieved by truncating the carboxy terminus of specific amino acid residues in the gE antigen, along with a recombinant vector and host cell transformation for vaccine composition production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If live attenuated vaccines are used for varicella and herpes zoster prevention, then immunogenicity is improved, but safety deteriorates due to stability issues and potential adverse effects from live viruses
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the immunogenic surface protein gE from the complete live virus, isolating only the beneficial immunogenic component while eliminating the harmful live virus elements. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining immunogenicity through the purified protein while removing safety risks associated with live attenuated vaccines.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a recombinant copy of the gE gene inserted into a safe expression vector system, producing a purified protein copy that replicates the immunogenic properties of the natural virus protein without containing the live virus itself. This copying approach maintains immunogenicity while eliminating safety concerns.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If protein antigens are used as vaccine components, then safety is improved by eliminating live virus concerns, but immunogenicity deteriorates due to insufficient immune response
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by selectively modifying the gE protein structure through truncation at the carboxy terminus to enhance its immunogenic properties. This localized structural optimization improves immunogenicity of the protein antigen while maintaining the safety advantages of purified protein vaccines.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical-chemical parameters of the gE protein by truncating the carboxy terminus at specific positions (525-543 amino acids), which alters the protein's conformational properties and enhances its immunogenicity. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by improving immune response while maintaining safety.
3Reliability
If the complete gE antigen is used, then immunogenicity is maintained, but expression level deteriorates due to low productivity in host cells
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the complete gE antigen into a truncated version by removing the carboxy-terminal region (amino acids 525-543), which eliminates portions that may interfere with expression while preserving the core immunogenic domains. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by improving productivity through enhanced expression levels while maintaining immunogenicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies partial action by truncating only the necessary carboxy-terminal portion of gE that hinders expression, rather than removing the entire protein. This partial modification achieves sufficient expression levels for high productivity while retaining the essential immunogenic regions needed for effective vaccination.
Data Source
AI summary
An antigen variant and a use thereof are disclosed. The antigen variant is a protein, among surface proteins (gE) of the varicella zoster virus, exhibits a high expression level and high immunogenicity, and thus, when the antigen variant is used as a vaccine composition, the vaccine composition has more excellent safety compared to a live virus vaccine, and the antigen variant exhibits a higher expression level in a host cell compared to other antigens. The antigen variant is useful as a vaccine for preventing or treating chicken pox or herpes zoster caused by the varicella zoster virus.