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Cross-protective immunity following coronavirus vaccination and coronavirus infection
Tanushree Dangi, … , Justin M. Richner, Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster
Tanushree Dangi, … , Justin M. Richner, Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster
Published October 8, 2021
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2021;131(24):e151969. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI151969.
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Research Article Article has an altmetric score of 473

Cross-protective immunity following coronavirus vaccination and coronavirus infection

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Abstract

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines have shown efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, it is unknown if coronavirus vaccines can also protect against other coronaviruses that may infect humans in the future. Here, we show that coronavirus vaccines elicited cross-protective immune responses against heterologous coronaviruses. In particular, we show that a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) vaccine developed in 2004 and known to protect against SARS-CoV-1 conferred robust heterologous protection against SARS-CoV-2 in mice. Similarly, prior coronavirus infections conferred heterologous protection against distinct coronaviruses. Cross-reactive immunity was also reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and in individuals who received SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and transfer of plasma from these individuals into mice improved protection against coronavirus challenges. These findings provide the first demonstration to our knowledge that coronavirus vaccines (and prior coronavirus infections) can confer broad protection against heterologous coronaviruses and establish a rationale for universal coronavirus vaccines.

Authors

Tanushree Dangi, Nicole Palacio, Sarah Sanchez, Mincheol Park, Jacob Class, Lavanya Visvabharathy, Thomas Ciucci, Igor J. Koralnik, Justin M. Richner, Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster

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Figure 4

SARS-CoV-1 vaccination induces cross-reactive antibodies and T cells.

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SARS-CoV-1 vaccination induces cross-reactive antibodies and T cells.
(A...
(A) Antibody responses after MVA-SARS-CoV-1 spike vaccination. (B) SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralization assay. SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses (200 FFU) were incubated with mouse sera diluted 1:4 prior to addition onto a HEK293-hACE2 cell monolayer. (C and D) Representative microscopic images of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralization using sera from (C) unvaccinated mice (Unvax sera) or (D) SARS-CoV-1–vaccinated (Vax sera) mice. Scale bars: 400 μm. (E) Representative FACS plots showing cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2–specific CD8+ T cells in SARS-CoV-1–vaccinated mice. Cross-reactive CD8+ T cells were detected by intracellular cytokine staining after a 5-hour stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 spike overlapping peptide pools, in a 37°C, 5% CO2 incubator. Cells were gated on live CD8+ lymphocytes. Data are from splenocytes on post-boost day 15. (F) Representative FACS plots showing cross-reactive (VNFNFNGL-specific) CD8+ T cells in mice vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-1 vaccine and in mice vaccinated with various other SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Cells were gated on live CD8+ lymphocytes. Data are from PBMCs on post-boost day 15. (G) Summary of CD8+ T cell responses among vaccine platforms. All mice were primed and boosted intramuscularly (see Methods for vaccine dosing information). Vertical arrows in G indicate the time of the boost. Experiments were done using wild-type C57BL/6 mice, except for VSV-SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccination, in which k18-hACE2 (C57BL/6) mice were used. In A, data are from 2 independent experiments with 5 mice/group; data from all experiments are shown, and dashed lines represent the LOD. In B, data are from 1 experiment with 5 mice/group. In E and F, representative results of experiments performed twice with 5 mice/group are shown. Panel G shows a summary of the 2 experiments combined. **P < 0.01 and ****P < 0.0001, by Mann-Whitney U test. Error bars indicate the SEM.

Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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