Recombinant immune complexes as vaccines against infectious diseases

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2024-11, Vol.42 (11), p.1427-1438
• Main Authors: Kim, Mi-Young, Mason, Hugh S., Ma, Julian K.C., Reljic, Rajko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants; Animals; Antibodies; Antigen-Antibody Complex - immunology; Antigen-antibody complexes; Antigens; Bioengineering; biotechnology; Communicable Diseases - immunology; Ebola virus; Good Manufacturing Practice; Humans; immune complexes; Immunity (Disease); Immunogenicity; infection; Infectious diseases; plants; Proteins; Tetanus; Vaccines; Vaccines - immunology; Vaccines, Synthetic - immunology; Zika virus
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.05.004

Immune complexes (ICs) between antigens and antibodies are naturally immunogenic by virtue of enhanced uptake by antigen-presenting cells.Recombinant ICs have been generated by molecular engineering, which opens the path for scale-up manufacturing and consistent formulation.Several iterations of recombinant ICs have been generated and tested as vaccine candidates for immunogenicity and protection against infectious diseases.Plant biotechnology has emerged as an alternative and cheaper production system to mammalian cell platforms, raising the prospect for scalable, low-cost production of recombinant IC-based vaccines.Recombinant IC technology is now poised to enter the clinical phase of testing and development. New vaccine technologies are needed to combat many existing infections and prepare better for those that may emerge in the future. The conventional technologies that rely on protein-based vaccines are still severely restricted by the sparsity and poor accessibility of available adjuvants. One possible solution to this problem is to enhance antigen immunogenicity by a more natural means by complexing it with antibodies in the form of immune complexes (ICs). However, natural ICs are impractical as vaccines, and significant research efforts have been made to generate them in recombinant form, with plant bioengineering being at the forefront of these efforts. Here, we describe the challenges and progress made to date to make recombinant IC vaccines applicable to humans. New vaccine technologies are needed to combat many existing infections and prepare better for those that may emerge in the future. The conventional technologies that rely on protein-based vaccines are still severely restricted by the sparsity and poor accessibility of available adjuvants. One possible solution to this problem is to enhance antigen immunogenicity by a more natural means by complexing it with antibodies in the form of immune complexes (ICs). However, natural ICs are impractical as vaccines, and significant research efforts have been made to generate them in recombinant form, with plant bioengineering being at the forefront of these efforts. Here, we describe the challenges and progress made to date to make recombinant IC vaccines applicable to humans.