Transmission electron micrograph of a coronavirus.

A universal coronavirus vaccine, also known as a pan-coronavirus vaccine, is a theoretical coronavirus vaccine that would be effective against all coronavirus strains. A universal vaccine would provide protection against coronavirus strains that have caused disease in humans, such as SARS-CoV-2 (including all its variants), while also providing protection against future coronavirus strains. Such a vaccine has been proposed to prevent or mitigate future coronavirus epidemics and pandemics.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Efforts to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine began in early 2020.[3] In December 2021, NIAID director Anthony Fauci, virologist Jeffery K. Taubenberger, and David M. Morens endorsed the development of durable universal coronavirus vaccines and advocated in favor of "an international collaborative effort to extensively sample coronaviruses from bats as well as wild and farmed animals to help understand the full 'universe' of existing and emerging coronaviruses", including already identified animal coronaviruses with pandemic potential.[6][7][8] In March 2022, the White House released the "National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan", which, in part, discusses plans to "accelerate research and development toward a single COVID vaccine that protects against SARS-CoV-2 and all its variants, as well as previous SARS-origin viruses".[9]

Strategies

One strategy for developing such vaccines was developed at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). It uses a spike ferritin-based nanoparticle (SpFN). This vaccine began a Phase I clinical trial in April 2022.[10]

Another is to attach vaccine fragments from multiple strains to a nanoparticle scaffold. One theory is that a broader range of strains can be vaccinated against by targeting the receptor-binding domain, rather than the whole spike protein.[11]

Projects

Pan-coronavirus vaccine candidates include variant-proof vaccines such as SpFN, developed by the US Army. It uses a ferritin nanoparticle with prefusion-stabilized spike antigens from the Wuhan strain. Another candidate is RBD–scNP, which is a sortase A-conjugated ferritin nanoparticle with receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigens. GRT-R910 is a self-amplifying mRNA delivering spike and T cell epitopes. hAd5-S+N delivers spike and nucleocapsid antigens via human adenovirus serotype 5 vector. MigVax-101 is an adjuvanted oral subunit vaccine with RBD and nucleocapsid domains.[12]

Among the pan-sarbecovirus vaccines are GBP511, a mosaic nanoparticle containing RBDs from SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and 1–2 bat coronaviruses. Another vaccine candidate, which is entering clinical development,[13] is Mosaic-8b, a mosaic nanoparticle containing RBDs from SARS-CoV-2 and 7 animal coronaviruses.[14] VBI-2901 uses virus-like particles expressing prefusion spike of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV.[12] UB-612 contains SARS-CoV-2 S1-RBD protein and synthetic peptides representing T cell (Th and CTL) epitopes on the nucleocapsid, spike and membrane proteins.[15]

Pan-betacoronavirus vaccines include DIOS-CoVax, a needle-free antigen injection.[12]

The Interferon Beta Integrated SARS-CoV-2 (IBIS) vaccine takes its name from its comprising a live-but-defective SARS-CoV-2 virus that is envelope-deficient and has the ORF8 segment replaced by interferon-beta. Administered nasally, it protected humanized mice and hamsters from both SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mullin E (2021-06-09). "A 'Universal' Coronavirus Vaccine to Prevent the Next Pandemic". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  2. ^ Kirkendoll SM (2021-07-07). "New universal coronavirus vaccine could prevent future pandemics". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  3. ^ a b Joi P (2021-07-13). "Could a universal coronavirus vaccine soon be a reality?". GAVI. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. ^ Le Page M (2021-11-10). "Covid-resistant people point way to universal coronavirus vaccine". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  5. ^ Kwon D (2021-06-29). "The Quest for a Universal Coronavirus Vaccine". The Scientist. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  6. ^ a b Morens DM, Taubenberger JK, Fauci AS (January 2022). "Universal Coronavirus Vaccines - An Urgent Need". The New England Journal of Medicine. 386 (4): 297–299. doi:10.1056/NEJMp2118468. PMID 34910863. S2CID 245219817.
  7. ^ a b "NIH scientists urge pursuit of universal coronavirus vaccine". National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2021-12-16. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  8. ^ a b Bush E (2021-12-15). "Fauci pushes for universal coronavirus vaccine". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  9. ^ "National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan" (PDF). The White House. March 2022. pp. 9, 21, 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  10. ^ "Phase 1 Clinical Trial of WRAIR-developed COVID-19 Vaccine Begins". April 5, 2022. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Haridy R (7 July 2022). "Another universal coronavirus vaccine readies for human trials". New Atlas. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Dolgin E (May 2022). "Pan-coronavirus vaccine pipeline takes form". Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery. 21 (5): 324–326. doi:10.1038/d41573-022-00074-6. PMID 35440811. S2CID 248264237.
  13. ^ "CEPI funds consortium led by CPI to advance Caltech's new all-in-one coronavirus vaccine". CEPI. 2022-05-07.
  14. ^ Cohen AA, Gnanapragasam PN, Lee YE, Hoffman PR, Ou S, Kakutani LM, et al. (February 2021). "Mosaic nanoparticles elicit cross-reactive immune responses to zoonotic coronaviruses in mice". Science. 371 (6530): 735–741. Bibcode:2021Sci...371..735C. doi:10.1126/science.abf6840. PMC 7928838. PMID 33436524.
  15. ^ Wang CY, Hwang KP, Kuo HK, Peng WJ, Shen YH, Kuo BS, et al. (May 2022). "A multitope SARS-CoV-2 vaccine provides long-lasting B cell and T cell immunity against Delta and Omicron variants". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 132 (10). doi:10.1172/JCI157707. PMC 9106357. PMID 35316221.
  16. ^ Chun-Kit Yuen, Wan-Man Wong, Long-Fung Mak, Joy-Yan Lam, Lok-Yi Cheung, Derek Tsz-Yin Cheung, et al. (October 2023). "An interferon-integrated mucosal vaccine provides pan-sarbecovirus protection in small animal models". Nature Communications. 14 (6762): 6762. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14.6762Y. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42349-5. PMC 10598001. PMID 37875475.
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