AI Article Synopsis

  • The study explores new mRNA vaccine strategies to enhance effectiveness against COVID-19, focusing on specific protein domains of the virus instead of the full-length spike protein.
  • The candidate vaccine mRNA-1283, combining the N-terminal domain and receptor binding domain, shows better antigen expression, stronger antibody responses, and improved stability compared to existing vaccines.
  • In animal tests, mRNA-1283 elicits equal or greater immune protection against various COVID-19 variants, supporting its advancement to clinical trials for further evaluation.

Article Abstract

With the success of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019, strategies can now focus on improving vaccine potency, breadth, and stability. We designed and evaluated domain-based mRNA vaccines encoding the wild-type spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) or N-terminal domain (NTD) alone or in combination. An NTD-RBD-linked candidate vaccine, mRNA-1283, showed improved antigen expression, antibody responses, and stability at refrigerated temperatures (2° to 8°C) compared with the clinically available mRNA-1273, which encodes the full-length spike protein. In BALB/c mice administered mRNA-1283 as a primary series, booster, or variant-specific booster, similar or greater immune responses from viral challenge were observed against wild-type, beta, delta, or omicron (BA.1) viruses compared with mRNA-1273-immunized mice, especially at lower vaccine dosages. K18-hACE2 mice immunized with mRNA-1283 or mRNA-1273 as a primary series demonstrated similar degrees of protection from challenge with SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants at all vaccine dosages. These results support clinical assessment of mRNA-1283, which has now entered clinical trials (NCT05137236).

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adf4100DOI Listing

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