SUMOylation对新冠mRNA疫苗免疫原性影响的研究

Study on the effect of SUMOylation on the immunogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine

  • 摘要: SUMOylation(小泛素化修饰)是一种重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,将SUMO(小泛素)蛋白共价修饰到底物蛋白的赖氨酸残基上,具有调控蛋白稳定性、亚细胞定位及免疫信号传递等功能. 新冠mRNA疫苗抗原刺突蛋白(S蛋白)的SUMOylation对疫苗免疫原性的影响此前尚未明确. 本研究通过生物信息学预测结合实验验证,发现奥密克戎毒株S蛋白存在多个修饰位点,且在多种细胞中被SUMO蛋白修饰. 受体结合域的K421和K437位点SUMOylation对维持疫苗诱导的体液和细胞免疫应答具有关键作用,其突变可导致血清抗体滴度显著降低. N端结构域K275位点的SUMOylation能够特异性调控T细胞亚群平衡,促进细胞毒性T细胞应答的同时抑制Th2型免疫反应. 结果表明,新冠病毒mRNA疫苗表达的S蛋白的SUMOylation参与调控特异性免疫应答,这为通过SUMOylation维度优化mRNA疫苗抗原设计提供了研究基础.

     

    Abstract: SUMOylation (small ubiquitin-like modification) is a crucial post-translational modification that covalently attaches SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) proteins to lysine residues of substrate proteins, thereby regulating protein stability, subcellular localization, and immune signal transduction. The impact of SUMOylation on the immunogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine-encoded spike (S) protein had not been previously elucidated. Through integrated bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation, this study identified multiple SUMOylation sites on the Omicron variant S protein and confirmed their modification by SUMO proteins in various cell types. Notably, SUMOylation at K421 and K437 residues within the receptor-binding domain was found to play a pivotal role in maintaining vaccine-induced humoral and cellular immune responses, as mutations at these sites significantly reduced serum antibody titers. Furthermore, SUMOylation at the K275 site in the N-terminal domain specifically modulated T cell subset balance by enhancing cytotoxic T cell responses while simultaneously suppressing Th2-type immune reactions. These findings demonstrate that SUMOylation of the S protein expressed by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines participates in the regulation of antigen-specific immune responses, providing a research foundation for optimizing mRNA vaccine antigen design through SUMOylation-based engineering strategies.

     

/

返回文章
返回