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Highlights: [•] Type-specific Thioredoxin-HPV16 L2 antigens do not elicit broad cross-neutralization. [•] Comprehensive L2 antigen design includes HPV31 and HPV51 sequences in addition to HPV16. [•] A mix of monovalent antigens elicits broader cross-neutralization than multivalent antigens. [•] In vitro undetectable neutralizing responses can mediate protection in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escherichia coli thioredoxin has been previously exploited as a scaffold for the presentation/stabilization of peptide aptamers as well as to confer immunogenicity to peptide epitopes. Here we focused on other key features of thioredoxin that are of general interest for the production of safer and more effective peptide immunogens, such as a high thermal stability, lack of cross-reactivity and a low-cost of production. We identified thioredoxin from the archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus (PfTrx) as a novel scaffold meeting all the above criteria. PfTrx is a highly thermostable and protease-resistant scaffold with a strong (poly)peptide solubilisation capacity. Anti-PfTrx antibodies did not cross-react with mouse, nor human thioredoxin. Untagged PfTrx bearing a previously identified HPV16-L2 peptide epitope was obtained in a .90% pure form with a one-step thermal purification procedure and effectively elicited the production of neutralizing anti-HPV antibodies. We thus propose PfTrx as a superior, general-purpose scaffold for the construction of safe, stable, and low-cost peptide immunogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The N-terminal region of the human papillomavirus (HPV) L2 protein has been shown to contain immune epitopes able to induce the production of neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies (Gambhira et al., 2007; Kawana et al., 1999). Using bacterial thioredoxin as a scaffold, we managed to enhance the immunogenicity of putative L2 neutralizing epitopes, but only a minor fraction of the resulting immune responses was found to be neutralizing (Rubio et al., 2009). To determine the recognition patterns for non-neutralizing, neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies, we isolated and characterized a panel of 46 monoclonal antibodies directed against different HPV16 L2 epitopes. Four of such antibodies proved to be neutralizing, and two of them, both targeting the amino acid (aa) 20–38 region of L2, were found to cross-neutralize a broad range of papillomaviruses. The epitopes recognized by neutralizing and cross-neutralizing antibodies were mapped at high resolution and were found to be characterized by distinct recognition patterns. Even in the case of the L2 20–38 epitope, cross-neutralization of HPV31 pseudovirions proved to be extremely inefficient, and this was found to be primarily due to the lack of a proline residue at position 30. HPV16 specific amino acids in this region also appear to be responsible for the lack of cross-neutralizing activity, thus suggesting a potential immune escape mechanism. For the aa 71–80 region, instead, the data indicate that restriction of neutralization to HPV16 is due to sequence (or structural) differences laying outside of the epitope. Besides providing new insights on the molecular bases of L2-mediated immune reactivity, the present data may pave the way to novel vaccination approaches specifically evoking cross-neutralizing antibody responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The minor capsid protein L2 is a promising candidate for the construction of an anti-human papillomavirus (HPV) broadly protective vaccine for the prophylaxis of cervical cancer. However, L2-derived peptides are usually poorly immunogenic and extensive knowledge on the most relevant (cross)neutralizing epitope(s) is still needed. We systematically examined the immunogenicity and virus neutralization potential of six peptides encompassing the N-terminal (amino acids 1–120) region of HPV16 L2 (20–38; 28–42; 56–75; 64–81; 96–115; 108–120) using bacterial thioredoxin (Trx) as a novel peptide scaffold. Mice antisera generated by 19 different Trx-L2 peptide fusions bearing one or multiple copies of each peptide were analyzed. Internal fusion to thioredoxin conferred strong immunogenicity to all the tested peptides, with a trend toward an increased immunogenicity for the multipeptide vs. the monopeptide forms of the various antigens. All Trx-L2 peptides induced HPV16 neutralizing antibodies in some of the immunized mice, but neutralization titers differed by more than two orders of magnitude. Trx-L2(20–38) antisera were by far the most effective in HPV16 neutralization and did not differ significantly from those induced by a reference polypeptide covering the entire L2 (1–120) region. The same antisera were also the most effective when challenged against the non-cognate HPV 18, 58, 45 and 31 pseudovirions. The data identify L2(20–38) as the best (cross)neutralizing epitope among the six that were examined, and point to thioredoxin fusion derivatives of this peptide as excellent candidates for the formulation of a low-cost, broadly protective HPV vaccine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]