A SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccine elicits protective immune responses in nonhuman primates
Michael Joyce, Hannah A. D. King, Inès Lakhal-Naouar, Aslaa Ahmed, Kristina K. Peachman, Camila Macedo Cincotta, Caroline Subra, Rita E. Chen, Paul V. Thomas, Wei‐Hung Chen, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Agnes Hajduczki, Elizabeth J. Martinez, Caroline E. Peterson, William C. Chang, Misook Choe, Clayton Smith, Parker J. Lee, Jarrett A. Headley, Mekdi G. Taddese, Hanne Andersen Elyard, Anthony Cook, Alexander Anderson, Kathryn McGuckin Wuertz, Ming Dong, Isabella Swafford, James Brett Case, Jeffrey R. Currier, Kerri G. Lal, Sebastian Molnar, Manoj S. Nair, Vincent Dussupt, Sharon P. Daye, Xiankun Zeng, Erica K. Barkei, Hilary Staples, Kendra J. Alfson, Ricardo Carrion, Shelly J. Krebs, Dominic Paquin‐Proulx, Nicos Karasavva, Victoria R. Polonis, Linda L. Jagodzinski, Mihret F. Amare, Sandhya Vasan, Paul T. Scott, Yaoxing Huang, David D. Ho, Natalia de Val, Michael Diamond, Mark G. Lewis, Mangala Rao, Gary R. Matyas, Gregory D. Gromowski, Sheila A. Peel, Nelson L. Michael, Diane L. Bolton, Kayvon Modjarrad
Abstract
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants stresses the continued need for next-generation vaccines that confer broad protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We developed and evaluated an adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 spike ferritin nanoparticle (SpFN) vaccine in nonhuman primates. High-dose (50 μg) SpFN vaccine, given twice 28 days apart, induced a Th1-biased CD4 T cell helper response and elicited neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and variants of concern, as well as against SARS-CoV-1. These potent humoral and cell-mediated immune responses translated into rapid elimination of replicating virus in the upper and lower airways and lung parenchyma of nonhuman primates following high-dose SARS-CoV-2 respiratory challenge. The immune response elicited by SpFN vaccination and resulting efficacy in nonhuman primates supports the utility of SpFN as a vaccine candidate for SARS-causing betacoronaviruses.