TY - JOUR
AU - Olivier, Joey
AU - George, Charlotte
AU - Huang, Chloe Qingzhou
AU - Sujit, Sneha B.
AU - Tonks, Paul
AU - Cantoni, Diego
AU - Grove, Joe
AU - O’Reilly, Laura
AU - Geiger, Johannes
AU - Dohmen, Christian
AU - Mummert, Verena
AU - Samuel, Anne Rosalind
AU - Plank, Christian
AU - Kinsley, Rebecca
AU - Temperton, Nigel
AU - Pfranger, Martina
AU - Wagner, Ralf
AU - Heeney, Jonathan L.
AU - Vishwanath, Sneha
AU - Carnell, George W.
PY - 2025
DA - May
TI - Enhanced variant neutralization through glycan masking of SARS-CoV-2 XBB1.5 RBD
JO - Emerging Microbes & Infections
VL - 14
IS - 1
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2025.2502011
AB - SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve antigenically under the immune pressure exerted by both natural infection and vaccination. As new variants emerge, we face the recurring challenge of updating vaccines at significant financial cost to maintain their efficacy. To address this, novel strategies are needed to enhance the breadth of protection offered by vaccines or, at a minimum, extend their effectiveness over time. One such strategy is antigen modification. In this study, we introduce a glycosylation site into a binding but non-neutralizing epitope within the SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.5 receptor binding domain (RBD) to redirect the immune response towards more potent neutralizing epitopes. Immunization of mice with this modified antigen via the mRNA vaccine platform resulted in a dramatic increase in neutralizing antibodies compared to the wild-type XBB.1.5 RBD, showing superior protection against a range of SARSCoV-2 Omicron variants, from BA.2 to JN.1. Our findings reinforce the power of the glycan masking approach, which in combination with the now well-established mRNA vaccine platform can contribute to broader and better vaccines.
PB - Taylor and Francis
UR - https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/356299/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER