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Npj Viruses
. 2025 Jul 29;3(1):60.
doi: 10.1038/s44298-025-00142-9. Merbecovirus S2 subunit vaccines elicit cross reactive antibodies and provide partial protection against MERS coronavirus
Peter J Halfmann # 1 , Jeong Soo Lee # 2 , Augustine Duffy 2 3 , Bingcheng Huang 2 , Jie E Yang 4 5 6 , Elizabeth R Wright 4 5 6 , Yoshihiro Kawaoka 7 8 9 10 , Ravi S Kane 11 12 13
Affiliations
Since the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that has caused a high case fatality rate of 36%, other merbecoviruses have been reported to also be capable of infecting human cells. Given the threat of Merbecovirus spillover to humans, we developed virus-like particle vaccines presenting the S2 subunit proteins of MERS-CoV, NeoCoV, HKU4, or HKU25. Mice were vaccinated with the homotypic vaccines, and IgG endpoint titers were measured against S2 proteins of the same panel of viruses, confirming high cross-reactivity across all four viruses. Based on characterization by antigenic cartography, MERS-CoV and HKU4 S2 proteins were selected as optimal components for a cocktail vaccine. MERS-CoV and NeoCoV homotypic vaccines, along with the mixture vaccine, provided partial protection in transgenic mice against a MERS-CoV challenge. These findings could serve as an important step toward designing pan-Merbecovirus vaccines in preparation for future outbreaks.
. 2025 Jul 29;3(1):60.
doi: 10.1038/s44298-025-00142-9. Merbecovirus S2 subunit vaccines elicit cross reactive antibodies and provide partial protection against MERS coronavirus
Peter J Halfmann # 1 , Jeong Soo Lee # 2 , Augustine Duffy 2 3 , Bingcheng Huang 2 , Jie E Yang 4 5 6 , Elizabeth R Wright 4 5 6 , Yoshihiro Kawaoka 7 8 9 10 , Ravi S Kane 11 12 13
Affiliations
- PMID: 40730716
- PMCID: PMC12307638
- DOI: 10.1038/s44298-025-00142-9
Since the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that has caused a high case fatality rate of 36%, other merbecoviruses have been reported to also be capable of infecting human cells. Given the threat of Merbecovirus spillover to humans, we developed virus-like particle vaccines presenting the S2 subunit proteins of MERS-CoV, NeoCoV, HKU4, or HKU25. Mice were vaccinated with the homotypic vaccines, and IgG endpoint titers were measured against S2 proteins of the same panel of viruses, confirming high cross-reactivity across all four viruses. Based on characterization by antigenic cartography, MERS-CoV and HKU4 S2 proteins were selected as optimal components for a cocktail vaccine. MERS-CoV and NeoCoV homotypic vaccines, along with the mixture vaccine, provided partial protection in transgenic mice against a MERS-CoV challenge. These findings could serve as an important step toward designing pan-Merbecovirus vaccines in preparation for future outbreaks.