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Vaccines
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SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Immune Responses
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SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Immune Responses

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "COVID-19 Vaccines and Vaccination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 3504

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Gianni Gori Savellini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
Interests: innate immunity; antagonistic proteins; arboviruses; vaccines

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Our immune system responds promptly to the attack of pathogens in order to limit their spread in the body and prevent the development of disease. However, several factors affect the immune system’s efficiency. Virus genetic evolution, which determines antigenic variations, causes virus' escape from the host’s acquired immunity, such as that induced by vaccines. A striking example of recent days is SARS-CoV-2, whose extremely rapid genetic evolution has led to the emergence of viral variants capable of escaping vaccine protection. In this Special Issue, researches highlighting the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and host immune responses, mechanisms for enhancing SARS-CoV-2 immunity, or the viral escape strategies from the immune system to induce symptomatic infection are welcome.

Dr. Gianni Gori Savellini
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • acquired immunity
  • vaccine
  • virus escape
  • virus evolution
  • SARS-CoV-2 variants

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1901 KiB  
Article
Major Role of S-Glycoprotein in Providing Immunogenicity and Protective Immunity in mRNA Lipid Nanoparticle Vaccines Based on SARS-CoV-2 Structural Proteins
by Evgeniia N. Bykonia, Denis A. Kleymenov, Vladimir A. Gushchin, Andrei E. Siniavin, Elena P. Mazunina, Sofia R. Kozlova, Anastasia N. Zolotar, Evgeny V. Usachev, Nadezhda A. Kuznetsova, Elena V. Shidlovskaya, Andrei A. Pochtovyi, Daria D. Kustova, Igor A. Ivanov, Sergey E. Dmitriev, Roman A. Ivanov, Denis Y. Logunov and Alexander L. Gintsburg
Vaccines 2024, 12(4), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12040379 - 02 Apr 2024
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Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 variants have evolved over time in recent years, demonstrating immune evasion of vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies directed against the original S protein. Updated S-targeted vaccines provide a high level of protection against circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, but this protection declines over time due [...] Read more.
SARS-CoV-2 variants have evolved over time in recent years, demonstrating immune evasion of vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies directed against the original S protein. Updated S-targeted vaccines provide a high level of protection against circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, but this protection declines over time due to ongoing virus evolution. To achieve a broader protection, novel vaccine candidates involving additional antigens with low mutation rates are currently needed. Based on our recently studied mRNA lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) platform, we have generated mRNA-LNP encoding SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins M, N, S from different virus variants and studied their immunogenicity separately or in combination in vivo. As a result, all mRNA-LNP vaccine compositions encoding the S and N proteins induced excellent titers of RBD- and N-specific binding antibodies. The T cell responses were mainly specific CD4+ T cell lymphocytes producing IL-2 and TNF-alpha. mRNA-LNP encoding the M protein did not show a high immunogenicity. High neutralizing activity was detected in the sera of mice vaccinated with mRNA-LNP encoding S protein (alone or in combinations) against closely related strains, but was undetectable or significantly lower against an evolutionarily distant variant. Our data showed that the addition of mRNAs encoding S and M antigens to mRNA-N in the vaccine composition enhanced the immunogenicity of mRNA-N and induced a more robust immune response to the N protein. Based on our results, we suggested that the S protein plays a key role in enhancing the immune response to the N protein when they are both encoded in the mRNA-LNP vaccine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Immune Responses)
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18 pages, 2426 KiB  
Article
SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Capacity in Hemodialysis Patients with and without a Fifth Vaccination with the Updated Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 Vaccine
by Bo-Hung Liao, Louise Platen, Myriam Grommes, Cho-Chin Cheng, Christopher Holzmann-Littig, Catharina Christa, Bernhard Haller, Verena Kappler, Romina Bester, Maia Lucia Werz, Eva Platen, Peter Eggerer, Laëtitia Tréguer, Claudius Küchle, Christoph Schmaderer, Uwe Heemann, Lutz Renders, Ulrike Protzer and Matthias Christoph Braunisch
Vaccines 2024, 12(3), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12030308 - 15 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Background: Hemodialysis patients have reduced serologic immunity after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination compared to the general population and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Sixty-six hemodialysis patients immunized four times with the original SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273) either received [...] Read more.
Background: Hemodialysis patients have reduced serologic immunity after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination compared to the general population and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Sixty-six hemodialysis patients immunized four times with the original SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273) either received a booster with the adapted Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 vaccine 8.3 months after the fourth vaccination and/or experienced a breakthrough infection. Two months before and four weeks after the fifth vaccination, the live-virus neutralization capacities of Omicron variants BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 were determined, as well as neutralizing and quantitative anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific IgG antibodies. Results: Four weeks after the fifth vaccination with the adapted vaccine, significantly increased neutralizing antibodies and the neutralization of Omicron variants BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 were observed. The increase was significantly higher than after the fourth vaccination for variants BQ.1.1 and BA.5. Of all analyzed variants, BA.5 was neutralized best after the fifth vaccination. We did not see a difference in humoral immunity between the group with an infection and the group with a vaccination as a fifth spike exposure. Fivefold-vaccinated patients with a breakthrough infection showed a significantly higher neutralization capacity of XBB.1.5. Conclusion: A fifth SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with the adapted vaccine improves both wild-type specific antibody titers and the neutralizing capacity of the current Omicron variants BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 in hemodialysis patients. Additional booster vaccinations with adapted vaccines will likely improve immunity towards current and original SARS-CoV-2 variants and are, therefore, recommended in hemodialysis patients. Further longitudinal studies must show the extent to which this booster vaccination avoids a breakthrough infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Immune Responses)
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12 pages, 835 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Efficacy of Antivirals and Monoclonal Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Lineages XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.3, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.4, BQ.1.1.45, CH.1.1, and CL.1
by Andrei A. Pochtovyi, Daria D. Kustova, Andrei E. Siniavin, Inna V. Dolzhikova, Elena V. Shidlovskaya, Olga G. Shpakova, Lyudmila A. Vasilchenko, Arina A. Glavatskaya, Nadezhda A. Kuznetsova, Anna A. Iliukhina, Artem Y. Shelkov, Olesia M. Grinkevich, Andrei G. Komarov, Denis Y. Logunov, Vladimir A. Gushchin and Alexander L. Gintsburg
Vaccines 2023, 11(10), 1533; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101533 - 28 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1455
Abstract
The spread of COVID-19 continues, expressed by periodic wave-like increases in morbidity and mortality. The reason for the periodic increases in morbidity is the emergence and spread of novel genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2. A decrease in the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has [...] Read more.
The spread of COVID-19 continues, expressed by periodic wave-like increases in morbidity and mortality. The reason for the periodic increases in morbidity is the emergence and spread of novel genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2. A decrease in the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has been reported, especially against Omicron subvariants. There have been reports of a decrease in the efficacy of specific antiviral drugs as a result of mutations in the genes of non-structural proteins. This indicates the urgent need for practical healthcare to constantly monitor pathogen variability and its effect on the efficacy of preventive and therapeutic drugs. As part of this study, we report the results of the continuous monitoring of COVID-19 in Moscow using genetic and virological methods. As a result of this monitoring, we determined the dominant genetic variants and identified the variants that are most widespread, not only in Moscow, but also in other countries. A collection of viruses from more than 500 SARS-CoV-2 isolates has been obtained and characterized. The genetic lines XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.3, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.4, BQ.1.1.45, CH.1.1, and CL.1, representing the greatest concern, were identified among the dominant variants. We studied the in vitro efficacy of mAbs Tixagevimab + Cilgavimab (Evusheld), Sotrovimab, Regdanvimab, Casirivimab + Imdevimab (Ronapreve), and Bebtelovimab, as well as the specific antiviral drugs Remdesivir, Molnupiravir, and Nirmatrelvir, against these genetic lines. At the current stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of mAbs developed against early SARS-CoV-2 variants has little prospect. Specific antiviral drugs retain their activity, but further monitoring is needed to assess the risk of their efficacy being reduced and adjust recommendations for their use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Immune Responses)
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