Matthew McCallum

3 weeks ago | biorxiv.org | Amin Addetia |Lisa Perruzza |Young-Jun Park |Matthew McCallum

AbstractMarburg virus (MARV) is a filovirus that causes a severe and often lethal hemorrhagic fever. Despite the increasing frequency of MARV outbreaks, no vaccines or therapeutics are licensed for use in humans. Here, we designed mutations that improve the expression and thermostability of the prefusion MARV glycoprotein (GP) ectodomain trimer, which is the sole target of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines in development.

Oct 30, 2024 | nature.com | Matthew McCallum |Qing Xiong |Davide Corti |David Veesler |Zheng-Li Shi

AbstractAlthough coronaviruses use diverse receptors, the characterization of coronaviruses with unknown receptors has been impeded by a lack of infection models1,2. Here we introduce a strategy to engineer functional customized viral receptors (CVRs). The modular design relies on building artificial receptor scaffolds comprising various modules and generating specific virus-binding domains.

Oct 24, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Matthew McCallum |David Veesler

AbstractIn the absence of effective vaccines, human-infecting members of the Herpesvirus family cause considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. Herpesvirus infection relies on receptor engagement by a gH/gL glycoprotein complex which induces large-scale conformational changes of the gB glycoprotein to mediate fusion of the viral and host membranes and infection.

Mar 11, 2024 | nature.com | Craig A Magaret |Allan C. deCamp |Morgane Rolland |Michal Juraska |Brian Williamson |James Ludwig | +23 more

AbstractIn the ENSEMBLE randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial (NCT04505722), estimated single-dose Ad26.COV2.S vaccine efficacy (VE) was 56% against moderate to severe–critical COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 Spike sequences were determined from 484 vaccine and 1,067 placebo recipients who acquired COVID-19. In this set of prespecified analyses, we show that in Latin America, VE was significantly lower against Lambda vs. Reference and against Lambda vs.

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.