1. Cutting Edge: Nucleocapsid Vaccine Elicits Spike-Independent SARS-CoV-2 Protective Immunity
- Author
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Vineet Joag, Stephen D O'Flanagan, Joshua M. Thiede, Clare F. Quarnstrom, Clayton K. Mickelson, Marc K. Jenkins, J. Michael Stolley, William E. Matchett, Tyler D. Bold, David Masopust, Michelle N Vu, Vaiva Vezys, Frances K. Shepherd, Vineet D. Menachery, Jennifer A Walter, Samuel Becker, Sathi Wijeyesinghe, Ryan A. Langlois, Eyob Weyu, and Andrew G. Soerens
- Subjects
Male ,COVID-19 Vaccines ,viruses ,T cell ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Immunology ,Biology ,CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ,Antibodies, Viral ,Epitope ,Article ,Cell Line ,Mice ,Immunity ,Cricetinae ,Pandemic ,Chlorocebus aethiops ,medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Animals ,Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins ,Vector (molecular biology) ,Lymphocyte Count ,Vero Cells ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Vaccination ,COVID-19 ,Phosphoproteins ,Virology ,Antibodies, Neutralizing ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,biology.protein ,Female ,Antibody ,Viral load ,Immunologic Memory - Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Neutralizing Abs target the receptor binding domain of the spike (S) protein, a focus of successful vaccine efforts. Concerns have arisen that S-specific vaccine immunity may fail to neutralize emerging variants. We show that vaccination with a human adenovirus type 5 vector expressing the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein can establish protective immunity, defined by reduced weight loss and viral load, in both Syrian hamsters and K18-hACE2 mice. Challenge of vaccinated mice was associated with rapid N-specific T cell recall responses in the respiratory mucosa. This study supports the rationale for including additional viral Ags in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, even if they are not a target of neutralizing Abs, to broaden epitope coverage and immune effector mechanisms.
- Published
- 2021