More Effective Vaccines Using a Protein From Streptococcus Pyogenes

Innovation: Industry

SpyBiotech

2017

Image: Scott Webb / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Chemically Assemble on Demand

The vast majority of biochemical assembly and break down processes––even by the most complex organisms––occur within cells. In fact, cells are able to perform hundreds, even thousands, of chemical transformations at the same time under life-friendly conditions (ambient temperature and pressure in an aqueous environment). For example, venomous snakes store precursor molecules to instantly synthesize a suite of toxins via enzyme-mediated cascades.

Search this Function

Attach a Functional Group

Functional groups are atoms or groups of atoms that impart distinctive properties to the organic molecule to which they are attached. For example, a phosphate functional group (PO4) is enzymatically attached to ADP to form ATP. Other functional groups are hydroxyl groups (-OH), carboxylic acid groups (-COOH), amino groups (-NH2), methyl groups (-CH3), and phenyl groups (also called benzene rings).

Search this Function

Attach Permanently

A living system can conserve energy by attaching permanently to a particular site because it can take advantage of resources that come its way, rather than expending energy to move to resources. A permanent attachment, intended to last the lifetime of the living system, creates special challenges. For example, physical mechanisms, such as the anchor that holds a marine algae to the ocean’s bottom, must be able to withstand forces that can pull it off its substrate. Chemical mechanisms, such as a barnacle’s glue, must avoid both physical and chemical breakdown, such as being dissolved by water.

Search this Function

Patents

SpyTag/SpyCatcher from SpyBiotech uses a protein from a common bacterium to increase the effectiveness of vaccines.

Benefits

More effective vaccines
New vaccines

Applications

Vaccines for human and animal diseases

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing

Bioutilization

Streptococcus pyogenes

The Challenge

Vaccines help the body develop immunity to infectious diseases so we can fight them off if they enter our bodies. Many vaccines contain virus-like s (VLPs) bound to specific antigens that train the immune system to attack when an actual virus enters. To maximize the immune response, the presence of more antigens is better. However, it is challenging to attach antigens to VLPs. One common way is to directly fuse an antigen to a protein on the VLP, but this could cause the antigen and the protein to change shape, causing the immune system to learn an incorrect response. Another possibility is to fuse the antigen to the VLP through a chemical bond, but it is impossible to control the amount of antigen that binds or exactly how it binds, which could lead to a weakened immune response.

Innovation Details

SpyTag/SpyCatcher splits a protein from the common bacterium, Streptococcus pyogenes, into two parts: the SpyTag that binds to antigens, and SpyCatcher that binds to the virus-like protein. The two pieces of the original SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein then bind back together, forming an unbreakable covalent bond. The immune system then learns a more effective response due to the increased signal from the tightly packed antigens on the virus like particle.

Biological Model

While many people carry Streptococcus pyogenes in their throat without any problems, the bacteria can cause infections ranging from a sore throat to flesh-eating disease. The bacteria invades and binds to human cells with a specific protein, FbaB. Most organisms usually bind proteins with disulfide bonds. However, Streptococcus pyogenes lives in low oxygen environments, where it is hard to form disulfide bonds. It has thus evolved to bind proteins together with covalent bods, which are much stronger.

See Related Strategy

black and white microscopic image of bacteria

Biological Strategy

Protein Binds

Streptococcus pyogenes

A protein in the flesh-eating bacteria binds to human cells to allow invasion by having a 3D structure stabilized by an additional covalent bond.

AskNature