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Review
. 2018 Aug;17(8):677-686.
doi: 10.1080/14760584.2018.1506702. Epub 2018 Aug 9.

Prospects for a MERS-CoV spike vaccine

Yusen Zhou  1 , Shibo Jiang  2   3 , Lanying Du  2
Affiliations
Review

Prospects for a MERS-CoV spike vaccine

Yusen Zhou et al. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Six years have passed since Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a newly emerging infectious virus, was first reported in 2012. Although MERS-CoV has had a consistently high mortality rate in humans, no vaccines have been approved to prevent MERS-CoV infection in humans. MERS-CoV spike (S) protein is a key target for development of MERS vaccines.

Areas covered: In this review, we illustrate the structure and function of S protein as a vaccine target, describe available animal models for evaluating MERS vaccines, and summarize recent progress on MERS-CoV S-based vaccines, focusing on their ability to elicit antibody and/or cellular immune responses, neutralizing antibodies, and protection against MERS-CoV infection in different models. Prospects for future MERS-CoV S-based vaccines are discussed.

Expert commentary: The majority of MERS vaccines under development are based on MERS-CoV S protein, including full-length S, S1, and receptor-binding domain (RBD). While it is essential to evaluate the safety of full-length S and S1-based MERS vaccines, further improvement of the efficacy of RBD-based vaccines using novel strategies would be necessary. Overall, this review provides informative guidance for designing and developing safe and effective MERS vaccines based on viral S protein.

Keywords: MERS; MERS-CoV; immune responses; neutralizing antibodies; protection; receptor-binding domain; spike protein; vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
MERS-CoV and S protein structures and vaccine targets in MERS-CoV S protein. (A) Schematic structure of MERS-CoV and its key structural proteins, including S, N, M, and E proteins. (B) Schematic structure of MERS-CoV S protein and its functional regions. S protein is composed of S1 and S2 subunits. NTD, N-terminal domain. RBD, receptor-binding domain. RBM, receptor-binding motif. FP, fusion peptide. HR1 and HR2, heptad repeat 1 and 2 regions. TM, transmembrane. CP, cytoplasmic tail. (C) Key vaccine targets in MERS-CoV S protein and its fragments.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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