Broad protection and respiratory immunity of dual mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Broad protection and respiratory immunity of dual mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Blog Article

Abstract While first-generation, spike (S)-based COVID-19 vaccines were effective against early SARS-CoV-2 strains, the rapid evolution of novel Omicron subvariants have substantially reduced vaccine efficacy.As such, broadly protective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are needed to prevent future viral emergence.In addition, it remains less socksmith santa cruz clear whether peripheral immunization, especially with mRNA vaccines, elicits effective respiratory immunity.

Our group has developed a nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine expressing the nucleocapsid (N) protein of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus and has tested its use in combination with the S-based mRNA vaccine (mRNA-S).In this study, we examined efficacy of mRNA-N alone or in combination with mRNA-S (mRNA-S+N) against more immune evasive Omicron variants in hamsters.Our data show that mRNA-N alone induces a modest but significant protection against BA.

5 and that dual mRNA-S+N vaccination confers complete protection against both BA.5 and BQ.1, preventing detection of virus in the hamster lungs.

Analysis of respiratory immune response in mice shows that intramuscular mRNA-S+N immunization effectively induces respiratory S- and N-specific T cell responses in the lungs and in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), as well as antigen-specific binding IgG in BAL.Together, our data further support mRNA-S+N as a dea eyewear potential pan-COVID-19 vaccine for broad protection against current and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.