Publication Database

Deciphering the role of humoral and cellular immune responses in different COVID-19 vaccines:
a comparison of vaccine candidate genes in roborovski dwarf hamsters (2021)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Trimpert, Jakob (WE 5)

Herwig, Susanne

Stein, Julia

Vladimirova, Daria (WE 5)

Adler, Julia M. (WE 5)

Abdelgawad, Azza (WE 5)

Firsching, Theresa C. (WE 12)

Thoma, Tizia

Sehouli, Jalid

Osterrieder, Klaus

Gruber, Achim D. (WE 12)

Sawitzki, Birgit

Sander, Leif Erik

Cichon, Günter

Quelle

Viruses

Bandzählung: 13

Heftzählung: 11

Seiten: Artikel 2290

ISSN: 1999-4915

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/11/2290

DOI: 10.3390/v13112290

Kontakt

Institut für Tierpathologie

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 15
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62450
pathologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

With the exception of inactivated vaccines, all SARS-CoV-2 vaccines currently used for clinical application focus on the spike envelope glycoprotein as a virus-specific antigen. Compared to other SARS-CoV-2 genes, mutations in the spike protein gene are more rapidly selected and spread within the population, which carries the risk of impairing the efficacy of spike-based vaccines. It is unclear to what extent the loss of neutralizing antibody epitopes can be compensated by cellular immune responses, and whether the use of other SARS-CoV-2 antigens might cause a more diverse immune response and better long-term protection, particularly in light of the continued evolution towards new SARS-CoV-2 variants. To address this question, we explored immunogenicity and protective effects of adenoviral vectors encoding either the full-length spike protein (S), the nucleocapsid protein (N), the receptor binding domain (RBD) or a hybrid construct of RBD and the membrane protein (M) in a highly susceptible COVID-19 hamster model. All adenoviral vaccines provided life-saving protection against SARS-CoV-2-infection. The most efficient protection was achieved after exposure to full-length spike. However, the nucleocapsid protein, which triggered a robust T-cell response but did not facilitate the formation of neutralizing antibodies, controlled early virus replication efficiently and prevented severe pneumonia. Although the full-length spike protein is an excellent target for vaccines, it does not appear to be the only option for future vaccine design.