Single-epitope T cell-based vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a preclinical animal model.

ABSTRACT: Currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines induce humoral and cellular responses to epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, though the relative roles of antibodies and T cells in protection are not well understood. To understand the role of vaccine-elicited T cell responses in protection, we established a T cell-only vaccine using a DC-targeted lentiviral vector expressing single CD8+ T cell epitopes of the viral nucleocapsid, spike, and ORF1. Immunization of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-transgenic mice with ex vivo lentiviral vector-transduced DCs or by direct injection of the vector induced the proliferation of functional antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, resulting in a 3-log decrease in virus load upon live virus challenge that was effective against the ancestral virus and Omicron variant

SUBMITTER: Tada T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10132166 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature