tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
NPJ Vaccines
. 2026 Jan 13;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w. Strong and early immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and rhesus macaques after BNT162b3 vaccination
Annette B Vogel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bonny G Lui[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kristin Tompkins[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Isis Kanevsky[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Alexander Muik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stefanie A Krumm[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alptekin Güler[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohan S Maddur[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kerstin C Walzer[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sonja Witzel[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Fulvia Vascotto[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Eliana Stanganello[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Ayuko Ota-Setlik[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kimberly J Cottingham[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Omaira Allbritton[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jessica Keverne[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Letícia Aragão-Santiago[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kena A Swanson[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Özlem Türeci[SUP] 2 5 [/SUP], Uğur Şahin[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
We preclinically characterize BNT162b3, a nucleoside-modified mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine encoding a trimerized, cell surface-tethered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon), formulated in lipid nanoparticles. Intramuscular immunization with BNT162b3 induced high antigen-specific antibody titers with early seroconversion kinetics in mice and rhesus macaques. One dose of BNT162b3 induced high neutralizing antibody titers against pseudoviruses harboring the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and early variants of concern up to Delta, but lower titers against Omicron, the phylogenetically more distant variant. In mice, a second immunization boosted Omicron neutralizing antibody titers to levels comparable to those of other tested variants. The cellular immune response was T helper 1 cell driven. The cell surface-tethered RBD-foldon was more immunogenic than its soluble counterpart. This study demonstrated the suitability of BNT162b3 as COVID-19 vaccine and supported its evaluation in a phase I/II clinical trial (BNT162-04, NCT04537949).
. 2026 Jan 13;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w. Strong and early immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and rhesus macaques after BNT162b3 vaccination
Annette B Vogel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bonny G Lui[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kristin Tompkins[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Isis Kanevsky[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Alexander Muik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stefanie A Krumm[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alptekin Güler[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mohan S Maddur[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kerstin C Walzer[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sonja Witzel[SUP] 2 4 [/SUP], Fulvia Vascotto[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Eliana Stanganello[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Ayuko Ota-Setlik[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kimberly J Cottingham[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Omaira Allbritton[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jessica Keverne[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Letícia Aragão-Santiago[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kena A Swanson[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Özlem Türeci[SUP] 2 5 [/SUP], Uğur Şahin[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 41530185
- DOI: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w
We preclinically characterize BNT162b3, a nucleoside-modified mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine encoding a trimerized, cell surface-tethered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon), formulated in lipid nanoparticles. Intramuscular immunization with BNT162b3 induced high antigen-specific antibody titers with early seroconversion kinetics in mice and rhesus macaques. One dose of BNT162b3 induced high neutralizing antibody titers against pseudoviruses harboring the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and early variants of concern up to Delta, but lower titers against Omicron, the phylogenetically more distant variant. In mice, a second immunization boosted Omicron neutralizing antibody titers to levels comparable to those of other tested variants. The cellular immune response was T helper 1 cell driven. The cell surface-tethered RBD-foldon was more immunogenic than its soluble counterpart. This study demonstrated the suitability of BNT162b3 as COVID-19 vaccine and supported its evaluation in a phase I/II clinical trial (BNT162-04, NCT04537949).