The Protective Efficacy of a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate B.1.351V against Several Variant Challenges in K18-hACE2 Mice

Authors

Jie Yang
Huifen Fan
Anna Yang
Wenhui Wang
Xin Wan
Fengjie Lin
Dongsheng Yang
Jie Wu
Kaiwen Wang
Wei Li
Qian Cai
Lei You
Deqin Pang
Jia Lu
Changfu Guo
Jinrong Shi
Yan Sun
Xinguo Li
Kai Duan
Shuo Shen
Shengli Meng
Jing Guo
Zejun Wang

Publication Date

7-3-2024

Journal

Vaccines

Abstract

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) with increased transmissibility and partial resistance to neutralization by antibodies has been observed globally. There is an urgent need for an effective vaccine to combat these variants. Our study demonstrated that the B.1.351 variant inactivated vaccine candidate (B.1.351V) generated strong binding and neutralizing antibody responses in BALB/c mice against the B.1.351 virus and other SARS-CoV-2 variants after two doses within 28 days. Immunized K18-hACE2 mice also exhibited elevated levels of live virus-neutralizing antibodies against various SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Following infection with these viruses, K18-hACE2 mice displayed a stable body weight, a high survival rate, minimal virus copies in lung tissue, and no lung damage compared to the control group. These findings indicate that B.1.351V offered protection against infection with multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice, providing insights for the development of a vaccine targeting SARS-CoV-2 VOCs for human use.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2 variants, vaccine, immunogenicity, protection

Comments

PMID: 39066379