NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-08DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01509-6
Joshua S Woodworth, Claus Aagaard, Francisco J Salguero, Laura Hunter, Thomas Lindenstrøm, Simon Clark, Rasmus Mortensen
{"title":"Post-exposure vaccination with an adjuvanted protein subunit vaccine, but not BCG, protects mice and guinea pigs against M. tuberculosis.","authors":"Joshua S Woodworth, Claus Aagaard, Francisco J Salguero, Laura Hunter, Thomas Lindenstrøm, Simon Clark, Rasmus Mortensen","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01509-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01509-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health priority and vaccines targeting populations with prior Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) exposure are predicted to most rapidly impact epidemic control. Paradoxically, while efficacy trials are primarily targeting previously Mtb-exposed populations, preclinical testing largely relies on Mtb-naïve animal models. We introduce two post-exposure models, a murine reinfection model and a previously unreported guinea pig reactivation model, and evaluate the efficacy of the adjuvanted protein subunit vaccine H107/CAF®01 compared to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Consistent with clinical and human population data, we demonstrate that BCG fails to confer significant protection in these post-Mtb-exposed settings. In contrast, H107/CAF®01 imprints distinct Th17 responses and provides robust and consistent protection, reducing both the bacterial burden and infection-associated tissue pathology. These findings support the development of H107 as a vaccine candidate in previously Mtb-exposed and infected populations and underscores the importance of evaluating TB vaccines in animal models that reflect prior exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148405213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-08DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01497-7
Nithila Saravanan, Sean A Gray, Jennifer Davis, Conrad M Puff-Carter, Jiho Kim, Vishal Khatri, Nikhil Chauhan, Darrick Carter, Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram
{"title":"A next-generation human lymphatic filariasis vaccine candidate, rBmHAXT, for clinical development.","authors":"Nithila Saravanan, Sean A Gray, Jennifer Davis, Conrad M Puff-Carter, Jiho Kim, Vishal Khatri, Nikhil Chauhan, Darrick Carter, Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01497-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41541-026-01497-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study was conducted to develop a robust, scalable manufacturing process for the candidate vaccine rBmHAXT for human lymphatic filariasis (LF). During scale-up production, rBmHAXT showed significant antigen aggregation leading to a loss of purified vaccine antigens. This project aims to create an improved formulation suitable for industrial-scale production while maintaining robust protection. We generated three variants: (1) ∆Cys, in which all cysteinyl residues were mutated to serinyl. (2) GS, which has a flexible glycine-serine linker inserted between each of the component antigens, and (3) GS/∆Cys, a third variant with a combination of both the cysteine deletion and the addition of linkers. We then evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of each variant in a mouse model. We demonstrated that the ΔCys mutant retained immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy of the parent tag-free rBmHAXT protein. We also performed an accelerated stability study. All preparations remained stable at 4°C, and the ΔCys variant remained stable even at 25°C throughout the study (6 weeks). The ∆Cys protein was stable with equivalent potency in mice. Therefore, ∆Cys is an optimal candidate for progression to cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) manufacturing and human clinical trials as a vaccine for lymphatic filariasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13499809/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148405235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01511-y
Pavo Marijic, Katarzyna Jamróz-Dolińska, Wojciech Margas, Lucian Gaianu, Gaurav Mathur, Piotr Wojciechowski, Thatiana Pinto, Tia Vincent, Helen Petousis-Harris, Terry Nolan, Federico Martinón-Torres, Lee H Harrison, Zeki Kocaata
{"title":"Real-world effectiveness and impact of the 4CMenB vaccine against serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Pavo Marijic, Katarzyna Jamróz-Dolińska, Wojciech Margas, Lucian Gaianu, Gaurav Mathur, Piotr Wojciechowski, Thatiana Pinto, Tia Vincent, Helen Petousis-Harris, Terry Nolan, Federico Martinón-Torres, Lee H Harrison, Zeki Kocaata","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01511-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41541-026-01511-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>4CMenB vaccine is authorized for protection against serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). This study synthesized real-world evidence (RWE) data on effectiveness and impact of 4CMenB vaccine. A systematic search identified RWE on vaccine effectiveness (VE) and vaccine impact of 4CMenB in infants, children and adolescents. A meta-analysis was conducted of 4CMenB VE against serogroup B-IMD in infants and children. The primary meta-analysis used a random-effects model on data from five studies from five countries reporting VE in fully vaccinated infants and children, and estimated pooled VE at 79.7% (95% confidence interval 70.4, 86.1). In sensitivity analyzes, inclusion/exclusion of studies from the primary analysis did not materially change the results. Age-specific data in adolescents were summarized qualitatively. Data identified from Australia reported high effectiveness and impact in adolescents. This meta-analysis provides evidence of high 4CMenB VE against serogroup B-IMD in fully vaccinated infants and children across different geographic regions. Clinical trial registration: N/A.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13401604/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148397461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01515-8
Chaitanya Kurhade, Wei Chen, Weiqiang Li, Kristin R Tompkins, Lyndsey T Martinez, Swati Rajput, Emily Babiarz, Aaron Yam, Shin-Ae Lee, Shikha Shrivastava, Sarah O'Leary, Subrata Saha, Hui Yao, Li Hao, Todd Coffey, Carla Iris Cadima Couto, Alexander Muik, Raquel Munoz Moreno, Wesley Swanson, Pilar Mendoza, Uğur Şahin, Annaliesa S Anderson, Kena A Swanson, Pirada Suphaphiphat Allen, Kayvon Modjarrad
{"title":"Preclinical immunogenicity of the LP.8.1-adapted BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine.","authors":"Chaitanya Kurhade, Wei Chen, Weiqiang Li, Kristin R Tompkins, Lyndsey T Martinez, Swati Rajput, Emily Babiarz, Aaron Yam, Shin-Ae Lee, Shikha Shrivastava, Sarah O'Leary, Subrata Saha, Hui Yao, Li Hao, Todd Coffey, Carla Iris Cadima Couto, Alexander Muik, Raquel Munoz Moreno, Wesley Swanson, Pilar Mendoza, Uğur Şahin, Annaliesa S Anderson, Kena A Swanson, Pirada Suphaphiphat Allen, Kayvon Modjarrad","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01515-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01515-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SARS-CoV-2 evolution toward antigenically distinct lineages drives escape from host immunity. JN.1 lineage derivatives have recently dominated the global epidemiologic landscape. In preclinical models, an LP.8.1-adapted BNT162b2 vaccine elicited higher serum neutralizing antibody responses against contemporary, circulating JN.1 sublineages, including the epidemiologically dominant XFG lineage, as compared to JN.1 and KP.2 vaccines. These findings supported the selection of an LP.8.1-adapted vaccine for the composition of the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine formula.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148397484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-06DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01514-9
B van Put, G E Loe-Sack-Sioe, L G Visser, S P Jochems, A H E Roukens, H Jolink
{"title":"The immunogenicity of pneumococcal conjugate vaccinations in patients with asplenia and hyposplenia: a systematic review.","authors":"B van Put, G E Loe-Sack-Sioe, L G Visser, S P Jochems, A H E Roukens, H Jolink","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01514-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01514-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are important preventive tools against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in asplenic patients. This systematic review assesses current data and knowledge gaps on the immunogenicity of PCVs in asplenic patients. Twenty-seven studies were included assessing post-PCV IgG, opsonophagocytic functionality (OPA), or B-cell responses. We show that PCVs induce a strong serotype-specific IgG and OPA response in asplenic adults and children with various underlying conditions. Data in this review suggest that PPV23 has limited benefits for adults, but has been shown to broaden and boost the vaccine response in children with sickle cell disease. Moreover, we detected a lack of data on B-cell responses post-PCV and the optimal timing for vaccination around splenectomy. In conclusion, administration of PCVs in asplenic patients is supported by this review. The role of PPV23 in asplenic adults is probably limited, which supports the expected replacement of PPV23 by higher valent PCVs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148397453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-04DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01436-6
Moataz Noureddine, Lauren A Chang, Farah El Ayache, Gabriel Laghlali, Eleanor Burgess, Leonie Gruneberg, Prajakta Warang, Kaijun Jiang, Johanna Vandekerckhove, Vivian Yan, Haye Nijhuis, Lynda Coughlan, Bruno G De Geest, Juan Garcia-Bernalt Diego, Seok-Chan Park, Jorge Levican, Michael Schotsaert
{"title":"Muscle macrophage regenerative response after squalene-adjuvanted influenza vaccination is associated with type II-skewed response and is reduced with age.","authors":"Moataz Noureddine, Lauren A Chang, Farah El Ayache, Gabriel Laghlali, Eleanor Burgess, Leonie Gruneberg, Prajakta Warang, Kaijun Jiang, Johanna Vandekerckhove, Vivian Yan, Haye Nijhuis, Lynda Coughlan, Bruno G De Geest, Juan Garcia-Bernalt Diego, Seok-Chan Park, Jorge Levican, Michael Schotsaert","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01436-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41541-026-01436-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Squalene-based adjuvants like MF59 and AddaVax induce transient muscle injury, but their downstream mechanisms remain unclear. We show that intramuscular injection of a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV) with AddaVax triggers a muscle regenerative-like immune response, increasing CX3CR1⁺Ly6C⁺ macrophages in muscle and draining lymph nodes within four days. This promotes a type II-skewed immune response, with elevated IgG1 titers and Th2 cytokines in the lungs after influenza challenge. In aged mice, the macrophage response and type II skewing are diminished. Adoptive transfer of young mice bone marrow-derived macrophages into aged mice at vaccination leads to macrophage antigen uptake, lymph node migration, and type II immune bias. However, this restoration does not improve protection against mismatched viral challenge, suggesting additional age-related immune impairments. These findings highlight the role of macrophage-driven muscle regeneration in adjuvant activity and underscore the need to better understand how muscle damage and repair influence intramuscular vaccine efficacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148387794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-04DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01513-w
Qing Wu, Yu Chen, Di Zhao, Yuxuan Zhou, Zhenhao Yang, Xiaojing Zhong, Jianying Niu, Lin Yang
{"title":"EGFR mimotope alleviates renal fibrosis by promoting EGFR/RPL6/PCBP2 ternary complex formation.","authors":"Qing Wu, Yu Chen, Di Zhao, Yuxuan Zhou, Zhenhao Yang, Xiaojing Zhong, Jianying Niu, Lin Yang","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01513-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01513-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling plays a crucial role in renal fibrosis. We previously demonstrated that EGFR mimotope vaccination could alleviate renal fibrosis by restoring major histocompatibility complex class IB (MHC-IB) expression in renal tubular epithelial cells and promoting MHC-IB-enriched exosome release. Intriguingly, the mechanism by which the EGFR mimotope affects MHC-IB remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that administering purified EGFR mimotope-induced antibodies (EM-pAb) can effectively upregulate ribosomal protein ligand (RPL)-6, poly (rC) binding protein 2 (PCBP2), and MHC-IB in tubular epithelial cells. Mechanistically, the EM-pAb promoted EGFR/ribosomal protein ligand 6 (RPL6)/poly (rC) binding protein 2 (PCBP2) functional ternary complex formation, re-established the binding capability of PCBP2 to MHC-IB β-chain, and further regulated the NK cell population. RPL6 was confirmed as the key orchestrator of the ternary complex formation. Rpl6<sup>CKI</sup> mice further revealed the protective role of RPL6 in the animal model of renal fibrosis. RPL6 and kidney function showed a significant correlation in patients with chronic kidney disease. Overall, our findings uncover the signalling pathway by which EGFR modulates MHC-IB and validate the regulatory role of EM-pAb in this signalling pathway, indicating the therapeutic potential of RPL6 in chronic kidney disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-03DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01518-5
Mohammad Naghizadeh, Yevel Flores-Garcia, Reem Moskovitz, Sayit Mahmut Erdogan, Gregory M Martin, Ebenezer Addo Ofori, Jordan Plieskatt, Fabien Cannac, Randall S MacGill, Morten Agertoug Nielsen, Emily Locke, C Richter King, Kazutoyo Miura, Ashley Birkett, Lorraine A Soisson, Adam F Sander, Kristin Skogstrand, Lea Barfod, Berenice Salgado-Jimenez, Nis Borbye-Lorenzen, Ian A Wilson, Andrew B Ward, Fidel Zavala, Michael Theisen
{"title":"Epitope-selective vaccine designs to elicit protective antibodies against the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein.","authors":"Mohammad Naghizadeh, Yevel Flores-Garcia, Reem Moskovitz, Sayit Mahmut Erdogan, Gregory M Martin, Ebenezer Addo Ofori, Jordan Plieskatt, Fabien Cannac, Randall S MacGill, Morten Agertoug Nielsen, Emily Locke, C Richter King, Kazutoyo Miura, Ashley Birkett, Lorraine A Soisson, Adam F Sander, Kristin Skogstrand, Lea Barfod, Berenice Salgado-Jimenez, Nis Borbye-Lorenzen, Ian A Wilson, Andrew B Ward, Fidel Zavala, Michael Theisen","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01518-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01518-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>P. falciparum (Pf) malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently introduced malaria vaccines, RTS,S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M, are effective in preventing infection, but their efficacy declines over time. To address this challenge, next-generation vaccine candidates have been designed to improve the functional immunogenicity to the circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP). In this study, we tested multiple hypotheses for improved vaccine design. Immunogens were constructed to target regions containing functional epitopes, and these were displayed on a well-characterized clinically relevant particle display platform. These candidate vaccines were tested in the established infection mouse model in which P. berghei sporozoites have been engineered to contain PfCSP instead of the native PbCSP protein. Our results show that induction of antibodies to the junctional region and the minor and major repeats are all effective at reducing parasite infection of the liver, while antibodies to the C-terminal domain did not contribute to protective immunity. None of the domains showed evidence of antigenic competition when co-administered on separate particles or when expressed on the surface of a single particle. Immunogens expected to allow bivalent antibody binding were potently immunogenic while those with shorter structures permitting only 1-2 Fab binding interactions exhibited poor immunogenicity. No construct was found to be superior to the clinical benchmark RTS,S/AS01 in the mouse model. These results can inform approaches to malaria vaccine design and direct future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-03DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01519-4
Ziwei Zhao, Paul Milligan, Yin Bun Cheung
{"title":"Modeling time-varying efficacy of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine across trial settings.","authors":"Ziwei Zhao, Paul Milligan, Yin Bun Cheung","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01519-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-026-01519-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Correctly evaluating how vaccine efficacy (VE) changes over time is important for understanding long-term protection and guiding vaccination strategies. Using the 18-month pre-booster data from the multi-center RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine trial, we examined how different approaches of modeling time-varying VE affect the interpretation of vaccine protection. Four commonly used linear-in-parameter functions and a four-parameter monotonic function were evaluated and compared with semi-parametric spline benchmarks. Across study sites, the four-parameter function was favored when a sufficient number of clinical malaria episodes were observed. Different VE specifications led to substantially different estimates of vaccine impact under a seasonal delivery strategy. Across settings with a sufficient number of episodes, the four-parameter model recovered an inverse-sigmoid pattern of RTS,S/AS01 protection over 18 months, with rapid early decline followed by stabilization at 20-40%. These findings show that modeling choices influence interpretation of vaccine protection and support the four-parameter approach as a parsimonious, biologically-interpretable parametric form for characterizing waning VE in the RTS,S/AS01 setting, with broader applicability across other vaccine platforms requiring further evaluation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NPJ VaccinesPub Date : 2026-07-02DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01516-7
Marta Bermejo-Jambrina, Antonia Netzl, Ludwig Knabl, Melanie M Schmitt, Annika Rössler, Gagandeep Singh, Seok-Chan Park, Michael Schotsaert, Anna Mykytyn, Bart L Haagmans, Wegene Borena, Derek J Smith, Janine Kimpel
{"title":"Mapping SARS-CoV-2 immunity after an XBB.1.5 booster by antigenic cartography of merged human and hamster sera.","authors":"Marta Bermejo-Jambrina, Antonia Netzl, Ludwig Knabl, Melanie M Schmitt, Annika Rössler, Gagandeep Singh, Seok-Chan Park, Michael Schotsaert, Anna Mykytyn, Bart L Haagmans, Wegene Borena, Derek J Smith, Janine Kimpel","doi":"10.1038/s41541-026-01516-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41541-026-01516-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2, particularly the emergence and rapid spread of new immune-evasive variants, continues to challenge the durability of vaccine-induced protection. Understanding how repeated variant exposures shape neutralizing antibody breadth is therefore essential for optimizing booster design. Here, we investigated polyclonal neutralizing antibody responses in individuals who received a bivalent (ancestral + BA.4/5) boost followed by an additional monovalent XBB.1.5 boost, with and without breakthrough infection, against a diverse panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants. To visualize human multi-exposure immunity in antigenic space via antibody landscapes, we extended our existing human sera-based antigenic map with hamster sera infected with more recent variants. The hamster sera allowed us to map BA.2.86 and JN.1 variants, which largely escape human single exposure sera. Our analysis of human multi-exposure sera revealed that the number and type of exposures significantly shaped antibody landscapes. The XBB.1.5 booster immunization notably increased neutralizing antibody titers across variants, elevating the height of the antibody landscape. However, titers against more recent Omicron variants, such as JN.1, were low despite booster administration. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of SARS-CoV-2 immunity and emphasize the need for continuous monitoring and adaptation of vaccine strategies to maintain effective protection against emerging variants.</p>","PeriodicalId":19335,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Vaccines","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148369358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}