Profiling Antibody Epitopes Induced by MRNA-1273 Vaccination and Boosters

Overview

Journal Front Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2024 Apr 2

PMID 38562934

Authors

Bethany Girard

Elisabeth Baum-Jones

Rebecca L Best

Thomas W Campbell

Jack Coupart

Kyla Dangerfield

Abhilash Dhal

Michael Jhatro

Brian Martinez

Jack Reifert

John Shon

Minlu Zhang

Rebecca Waitz

Spyros Chalkias

Darin K Edwards

Maha Maglinao

Robert Paris

Rolando Pajon

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Characterizing the antibody epitope profiles of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 can aid in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the antibody-mediated immune responses elicited by these vaccines.

Methods: This study investigated the distinct antibody epitopes toward the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein targeted after a two-dose primary series of mRNA-1273 followed by a booster dose of mRNA-1273 or a variant-updated vaccine among serum samples from clinical trial adult participants.

Results: Multiple S-specific epitopes were targeted after primary vaccination; while signal decreased over time, a booster dose after >6 months largely revived waning antibody signals. Epitope identity also changed after booster vaccination in some subjects, with four new S-specific epitopes detected with stronger signals after boosting than with primary vaccination. Notably, the strength of antibody responses after booster vaccination differed by the exact vaccine formulation, with variant-updated mRNA-1273.211 and mRNA-1273.617.2 booster formulations inducing significantly stronger S-specific signals than a mRNA-1273 booster.

Conclusion: Overall, these results identify key S-specific epitopes targeted by antibodies induced by mRNA-1273 primary and variant-updated booster vaccination.

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