Publications by authors named "S Bangaru"

Current COVID-19 vaccines are largely limited in their ability to induce broad, durable immunity against emerging viral variants. Design and development of improved vaccines utilizing existing platforms requires an in-depth understanding of the antigenic and immunogenic properties of available vaccines. Here we examined the antigenicity of two of the original COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA-1273 and NVX-CoV2373, by electron microscopy-based polyclonal epitope mapping (EMPEM) of serum from immunized non-human primates (NHPs) and clinical trial donors.

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Development of an efficacious universal influenza vaccines remains a long-sought goal. Current vaccines have shortfalls such as mid/low efficacy and needing yearly strain revisions to account for viral drift/shift. Horses undergo bi-annual vaccines for the H3N8 equine influenza virus, and surveillance of sera from vaccinees demonstrated very broad reactivity and neutralization to many influenza strains.

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Article Synopsis
  • The N-terminal domain (NTD) of the spike protein in coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 is not well understood, but some rare antibodies targeting it can neutralize the virus, indicating its potential role in immune protection.
  • A specific monoclonal antibody, COV1-65, has been identified that effectively recognizes the NTD of the SARS-CoV spike protein and demonstrated disease prevention in mice when administered before viral exposure.
  • The interaction between COV1-65 and the SARS-CoV spike protein reveals key structural details that could inform the development of effective vaccines against various sarbecoviruses.
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The development of vaccines and therapeutics that are broadly effective against known and emergent coronaviruses is an urgent priority. We screened the circulating B cell repertoires of COVID-19 survivors and vaccinees to isolate over 9,000 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), providing an expansive view of the SARS-CoV-2-specific Ab repertoire. Among the recovered antibodies was TXG-0078, an N-terminal domain (NTD)-specific neutralizing mAb that recognizes diverse alpha- and beta-coronaviruses.

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