Neutralization of Hepatitis B Virus with Vaccine-escape Mutations by Hepatitis B Vaccine with Large-HBs Antigen

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2022 Sep 6

PMID 36064848

Authors

Ayaka Washizaki

Asako Murayama

Megumi Murata

Tomoko Kiyohara

Keigo Yato

Norie Yamada

Hussein Hassan Aly

Tomohisa Tanaka

Kohji Moriishi

Hironori Nishitsuji

Kunitada Shimotohno

Yasumasa Goh

Ken J Ishii

Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi

Masamichi Muramatsu

Koji Ishii

Yoshimasa Takahashi

Ryosuke Suzuki

Hirofumi Akari

Takanobu Kato

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Although the current hepatitis B (HB) vaccine comprising small-HBs antigen (Ag) is potent and safe, attenuated prophylaxis against hepatitis B virus (HBV) with vaccine-escape mutations (VEMs) has been reported. We investigate an HB vaccine consisting of large-HBsAg that overcomes the shortcomings of the current HB vaccine. Yeast-derived large-HBsAg is immunized into rhesus macaques, and the neutralizing activities of the induced antibodies are compared with those of the current HB vaccine. Although the antibodies induced by the current HB vaccine cannot prevent HBV infection with VEMs, the large-HBsAg vaccine-induced antibodies neutralize those infections. The HBV genotypes that exhibited attenuated neutralization via these vaccines are different. Here, we show that the HB vaccine consisting of large-HBsAg is useful to compensate for the shortcomings of the current HB vaccine. The combined use of these HB vaccines may induce antibodies that can neutralize HBV strains with VEMs or multiple HBV genotypes.

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