Engineering mRNA vaccine with broad-spectrum protection against SARS-cov-2 variants

Shuang Du; Liu Yang; Xingguang Chen; Yonghao Chen; Liang Weng; Hui Huang; Silin Pang

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151224

Engineering mRNA vaccine with broad-spectrum protection against SARS-cov-2 variants

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2024 Dec 25:746:151224. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151224. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shuang Du¹, Liu Yang², Xingguang Chen², Yonghao Chen¹, Liang Weng¹, Hui Huang³, Silin Pang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Shenzhen Shenxin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., 518052, China.
² Nanjing Shenxin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., 211800, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, National R&D Center for Chinese Herbal Medicine Processing, College of Engineering, China Pharmaceutical University, 211109, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Nanjing Shenxin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., 211800, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39742790
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151224

Abstract

Herd immunity through mass vaccination is an effective method for preventing infectious diseases. However, the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, with their frequent mutations, largely evade the immune response and protection induced by COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we designed messenger RNAs encoding mutant epitopes of the spike protein shared among various COVID-19 variants. These mRNAs were encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to formulate a vaccine named 'mPANVAX@COVID'. Post-vaccination, this approach elicited effective immunity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Delta and Omicron, and demonstrated good safety. This study suggests a novel direction for the design of broadly protective vaccines.

Keywords: Broad protection; COVID-19; Lipid nanoparticles; Neutralizing antibodies; mRNA vaccine.