Kaitlin R Sprouse

Dec 6, 2024 | cell.com | Kaitlin R Sprouse |Marcos Miranda |Nicholas J. Catanzaro |Amin Addetia |Cameron Stewart |Jack Brown | +19 more

KeywordsMERS-CoVEMPEMnanoparticlevaccineRBDNTDspikeResearch topic(s)CP: ImmunologyIntroductionThe recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has demonstrated the human and economic toll that can accompany the spillover and spread of a zoonotic disease in humans. Although the success of vaccine development efforts in response to the pandemic were a triumph of modern vaccinology, SARS-CoV-2 remains the only coronavirus for which licensed vaccines are available.

Oct 7, 2024 | nature.com | Marcos Miranda |Chengbo Chen |Kaitlin R Sprouse |Adian Valdez

AbstractWe previously described a two-component protein nanoparticle vaccine platform that displays 60 copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein RBD (RBD-NP). The vaccine, when adjuvanted with AS03, was shown to elicit robust neutralizing antibody and CD4 T cell responses in Phase I/II clinical trials, met its primary co-endpoints in a Phase III trial, and has been licensed by multiple regulatory authorities under the brand name SKYCovioneTM.

Apr 2, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Amin Addetia |Cameron Stewart |Albert J Seo |Kaitlin R Sprouse

AbstractMiddle-East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in 2012 and causes human infections in endemic regions. Most vaccines and therapeutics in development against MERS-CoV focus on the spike (S) glycoprotein to prevent viral entry into target cells. These efforts, however, are limited by a poor understanding of antibody responses elicited by infection along with their durability, fine specificity and contribution of distinct S antigenic sites to neutralization.

Jan 9, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Matthew McCallum |Young-Jun Park |Cameron Stewart |Kaitlin R Sprouse

AbstractThe human coronavirus HKU1 spike (S) glycoprotein engages host cell surface sialoglycans and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) to initiate infection. The molecular basis of HKU1 binding to TMPRSS2 and determinants of host receptor tropism remain elusive. Here, we designed an active human TMPRSS2 construct enabling high-yield recombinant production in human cells of this key therapeutic target.

Aug 30, 2023 | nature.com | Luca Piccoli |James Case |Young-Jun Park |Kaitlin R Sprouse |Jessica Bassi |Christian Saliba | +25 more

AbstractCurrently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants have acquired convergent mutations at hot spots in the receptor-binding domain1 (RBD) of the spike protein. The effects of these mutations on viral infection and transmission and the efficacy of vaccines and therapies remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that recently emerged BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5 variants bind host ACE2 with high affinity and promote membrane fusion more efficiently than earlier Omicron variants.