Vaccine platforms enable fast development, testing, and manufacture of more affordable
vaccines. Here, we evaluated Generalized Modules for Membrane
Antigens (
GMMA), outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) generated by genetically modified Gram-negative bacteria, as a
vaccine platform for viral pathogens. Influenza A virus
hemagglutinin (HA), either physically mixed with
GMMA (HA+STmGMMA mix), or covalently linked to
GMMA surface (HA-STmGMMA conjugate), significantly increased
antigen-specific humoral and cellular responses, with HA-STmGMMA conjugate inducing further enhancement than HA+STmGMMA mix. HA-STmGMMA conjugate protected mice from lethal challenge. The versatility for this platform was confirmed by conjugation of
rabies glycoprotein (RABVG) onto
GMMA through the same method. RABVG+STmGMMA mix and RABVG-STmGMMA conjugate exhibited similar humoral and cellular response patterns and protection efficacy as the HA formulations, indicating relatively consistent responses for different
vaccines based on the
GMMA platform. Comparing to soluble
protein,
GMMA was more efficiently taken up in vivo and exhibited a B-cell preferential uptake in the draining lymph nodes (LNs). Together,
GMMA enhances immunity against
viral antigens, and the platform works well with different
antigens while retaining similar immunomodulatory patterns. The findings of our study imply the great potential of
GMMA-based
vaccine platform also against viral
infectious diseases.