Combinatorial Antigen Display

The ability to simultaneously display multiple different antigens on the same CLP could have numerous applications, but has so far proven technically challenging, with only a few examples reported [48,78]. However, the unique exposure of both termini of AP205 has made it possible to readily achieve such combinatorial antigen display. A vaccine targeting both HPV and placental malaria was recently described [79]. In this study, concatenated RG1 epitopes (from the HPV L2 protein) were genetically fused to the C-terminus of AP205, while VAR2CSA (a placental malaria antigen) was conjugated via the Tag/Catcher system to the N-terminus of AP205, without hampering vaccine stability. Vaccination induced high titers of functional antibodies targeting both components, thus providing a proof-of-concept for dual antigen display on the Tag/Catcher-AP205 platform.
