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Synthesis and Evaluation of a Bivalent Glycoconjugate Vaccine for Prevention of Infection with Acinetobacter baumannii

Award Number: R21AI182953
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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Synthesis and Evaluation of a Bivalent Glycoconjugate Vaccine for Prevention of Infection with Acinetobacter baumannii - The proposed work will involve the synthesis and evaluation of glycoconjugates designed to trigger adaptive immune responses that provide protection against infection by the bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii. Drug resistance to this pathogen is on the rise, and there are no approved vaccines to prevent infection. Central Hypothesis: Conjugation of two classes of glycan from the surface of A. baumannii to so-called carrier proteins will result in an effective glycoconjugate vaccine with broad coverage against various strains. Project Goals: Short term goals include the synthesis of two classes of glycoconjugate inspired by A. baumannii glycans and their injection into mice to determine their immunogenicity and protective effects against infection. Long-term goals include the development of a binary glycoconjugate vaccine (based on the two classes of glycan) that can prevent infection with A. baumannii in humans. Specific Aims: Aim 1: Chemical Synthesis of A. baumannii glycans. Both a pentasaccharide O-glycan and fragments of a lipooligosaccharide (LOS) from A. baumannii will be synthesized chemically. Successful execution of this Aim will result in the production of homogeneous and conjugation-ready glycans. Aim 2: Covalent conjugation of A. baumannii Glycans to carrier Proteins. Glycans from Aim 1 will be equipped with a linker and then covalently linked to, inter alia, the carrier protein CRM197. Successful execution of this Aim will result in well- characterized glycoconjugates for immunological study. Aim 3: Immunological Evaluation of the Glycoconjugates. Mice will be immunized with the glycoconjugates. The antigenicity of these glycoconjugates will be studied. Immunized mice will then be challenged with A. baumannii to determine the protective effects of immunization and to study the nature of the immune response. Successful execution of this work will result in high titers of antibodies and robust protection of immunized mice relative to controls. Specific Aim 1 studies will involve multistep chemical synthesis of a series of 3 LOS fragments of varying complexity. We have completed the synthesis of the aforementioned O-glycan and one LOS fragment already. Key aspects of these syntheses include “endgame” assembly of oligosaccharides and protecting group removal. Specific Aim 2 studies will involve appendage of the O-glycan and LOS fragments with e.g. thiol or alkoxyamine linkers and subsequent conjugation to pre-functionalized derivatives of the carrier protein CRM197 through sulfide or oxime linkages, respectively. Specific Aim 3 studies will involve immunization of mice with the conjugates. Anti-glycan antibody titers in the resulting immune sera will be determined with ELISA, and binding of the antibodies to A. baumannii will be studied using flow cytometry. Immunized mice will be challenged with A. baumannii, and cytokine profiling will be conducted to study the nature of the immune response while the extent of protection will be determined by studying survival rates and bacterial burden. Such challenge experiments will be conducted with mice immunized with the most promising glycoconjugates.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $184,586 )
2025	2025	LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY	202 HIMES HALL	BATON ROUGE	LA	70803	EAST BATON ROUGE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	2	8/5/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$184,586
														Subtotal = $184,586

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $234,586 )
2024	2024	LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY	202 HIMES HALL	BATON ROUGE	LA	70803	EAST BATON ROUGE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	8/15/2024	NEW	$234,586
														Subtotal = $234,586

Grand Total All Awards = $419,172

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Synthesis and Evaluation of a Bivalent Glycoconjugate Vaccine for Prevention of Infection with Acinetobacter baumannii

Award Number: R21AI182953

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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