# Synthetic glycan conjugates with bacteriophage Qbeta for broad spectrum anti-salmonella vaccines

> **NIH NIH R01** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $300,000

## Abstract

Salmonella infections (salmonellosis) are a major public health problem throughout the
world. With the emergence of multidrug resistant Salmonella strains, there is a pressing need
for new methods to prevent salmonellosis. As there are characteristic carbohydrate structures
on the surface of Salmonella bacteria, in this project, a collaborative team is formed to develop
effective carbohydrate based anti-Salmonella vaccines.
 Instead of relying on isolated carbohydrates from the pathogenic bacteria, in aim 1,
synthetic strategies will be developed to produce structure well defined Salmonella glycans from
major pathogenic serovars. In aim 2, Salmonella glycans will be conjugated with a virus like
particle, bacteriophage Qβ as potential vaccines targeting specific pathogenic Salmonella
strains. This is supported by promising preliminary results that the Qβ glycan conjugates were
able to induce high titers (over 80 million ELISA units in rabbits) and long lasting anti-glycan IgG
antibodies, which could provide complete protection to mice from lethal challenges by
Salmonella bacteria. Building on these results, the Qβ carrier will be engineered to enhance its
abilities to further boost anti-Salmonella immune responses. In aim 3, a broad spectrum anti-
Salmonella vaccine will be developed, which can provide powerful protection against multiple
types of major pathogenic Salmonella by a single vaccine. This can complement well the strain
specific vaccines. This work can lead to an exciting new direction for anti-Salmonella vaccine
development, providing a much needed new arsenal in fighting salmonellosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201474
- **Project number:** 5R01AI146210-03
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Xuefei Huang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $300,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-16 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201474

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201474, Synthetic glycan conjugates with bacteriophage Qbeta for broad spectrum anti-salmonella vaccines (5R01AI146210-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201474. Licensed CC0.

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