Key facts (World Health Organization, WHO)
- HCV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, which lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Each year 399,000 people die from HCV-caused diseases, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- 71 million people live with chronic HCV infection globally. This virus infects 1-2% of the world population with estimated 1.5-2.0 million new infections every year. As reported by the US CDC, new HCV infections have more than tripled from 2011 to 2016
- There is currently no effective vaccine against HCV. On May 29, 2019, NIH reported the failed therapeutic (T-cell) vaccine trial.
Envelope Glycoproteins E1 and E2
- HCV entry into hepatocytes involves CD81, SRB1, CLDN1 and OCLN as the major entry factors
- Envelope glycoprotein E1/E2 complex is responsible for HCV entry into hepatocytes
- E2 is the main target of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) during natural infection
E2 Optimization For Multivalent 1c-SApNP Vaccine Design
Main hypothesis:
The optimized HCV E2 core, with enhanced structural stability, can be displayed on self-assembling protein nanoparticles (1c-SApNP) as vaccine candidates and induce broad and potent neutralizing antibodies (bpNAbs) more effectively than E1E2 or E2 alone.
3 Nanoparticle Platforms & Their EM Images
The Vaccine Concept
Robust Production in Various Expression Systems
Mouse Immunization: Study Design
Longitudinal Analysis of HCV E2-specific Ab Titers