Development of opioid vaccines using bacteriophage virus-like particles

Authors

Isabella G. Romano, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Albuquerque, NM
Bryce Chackerian, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Albuquerque, NM
Matthew Campen, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy
Kathryn M. Frietze, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Albuquerque, NM; University of New Mexico Health Sciences, Clinical & Translational Science Center, Albuquerque, NM

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

3-30-2023

Abstract

Oxycodone is the most abused prescription opioid and a common cause of opioid use disorder and overdose. Despite the availability of different treatment options, opioid overdose rates have skyrocketed to a staggering 80,000 deaths in 2021. Vaccines against opioids have been proposed as a novel strategy for preventing overdose and several studies have established the feasibility of this approach. Here, we report our efforts to engineer a vaccine against oxycodone that elicits high-titer antibodies with protective functionality against oxycodone. We accomplish this using a bacteriophage Qβ virus-like particle (VLP) platform to display oxycodone in a highly immunogenic and multivalent format. The repetitive nature, small particulate size, and excellent safety profile of Qβ VLPs makes them a promising platform for vaccine design. The oxycodone hapten was chemically modified to include a short peptide linker (GGGG-C) to enable conjugation to Qβ VLPs. Mice and rhesus macaques were immunized with Qβ-oxycodone or unconjugated Qβ control. Qβ-oxycodone elicited high-titer antibodies after one immunization, with high-avidity IgG antibodies elicited after two immunizations. In future studies, we will investigate drug distribution in the blood and brain, as well as protection from oxycodone-induced anti-nociception and opioid induced respiratory depression.

Comments

Poster presented at the Brain & Behavioral Health Research Day 2023

Recommended Citation

Romano, Isabella G.; Bryce Chackerian; Matthew Campen; and Kathryn M. Frietze. "Development of opioid vaccines using bacteriophage virus-like particles." (2023). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hsc-bbhrd/82