Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an enveloped icosahedral capsid virus with a prime neutralizing epitope present in E protein domain III (EDIII). E dimers are rearranged into a five-fold symmetry of icosahedrons. Cholera toxin B (CTB) and heat-labile enterotoxin B (LTB) of AB5-type toxin was used as the structural scaffold for emulating the pentameric axis of EDIII. We produced homo-pentameric EDIII through the genetic fusion of LTB or CTB in E. coli without recourse to additional refolding steps. Harnessing an RNA-mediated chaperone further enhanced the soluble expression and pentameric assembly of the chimeric antigen. The pentameric assembly was validated by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), non-reduced gel analysis, and a GM1 binding assay. CTB/LTB−EDIII chimeric antigen triggered high neutralizing antibodies against the JEV Nakayama strain after immunization in mice. Altogether, our proof-of-principle study creating a JEV-protective antigen via fusion with an AB5-type toxin as both a pentameric scaffold and a built-in adjuvant posits the bacterially produced recombinant chimeric antigen as a cost-effective alternative to conventional inactivated vaccines against JEV.

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