Combined immunization with SARS-CoV-2 spike and SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protects K18-hACE2 mice but increases lung pathology.

ABSTRACT: Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have targeted the spike protein and have been successful at preventing disease. However, with the emergence of variants, spike-specific vaccines become less effective. The nucleocapsid protein is relatively conserved among variants of SARS-CoV-2 and is a candidate for addition to spike in next generation vaccines for the induction of T cell protection. Previous studies on SARS-CoV have suggested that the induction of an immune response to nucleocapsid could result in enhanced disease. Using the K18-hACE2 mouse model we investigated immunization with a variant nucleocapsid, from SARS CoV (N1) alone or in combination with spike from SARS-CoV-2 and compared this to nucleocapsid from SARS-CoV-2 (N2). The spike-nucleocapsid-based vaccines conferred protection against

SUBMITTER: Kim J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11825953 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature