Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model
The threat of herpes zoster (HZ) is increasing, particularly in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Although two platform vaccines are currently available for HZ prevention, the low effectiveness of the live attenuated varicella-zoster virus vaccine (Zostavax®), and the high reactogenicit...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2495607 |
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| author | Eun-Jeong Jang Sivilay Xayaheuang Ji-Young Hwang Yunhwa Kim Kyung-Min Lee Seok-Tae Choi Hye Won Kwak Jae-Hwan Nam Keunea Kim Boomi Yoon Jae Hyang Lim Ho Seong Seo Chang-Hoon Woo Hosun Park |
| author_facet | Eun-Jeong Jang Sivilay Xayaheuang Ji-Young Hwang Yunhwa Kim Kyung-Min Lee Seok-Tae Choi Hye Won Kwak Jae-Hwan Nam Keunea Kim Boomi Yoon Jae Hyang Lim Ho Seong Seo Chang-Hoon Woo Hosun Park |
| author_sort | Eun-Jeong Jang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The threat of herpes zoster (HZ) is increasing, particularly in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Although two platform vaccines are currently available for HZ prevention, the low effectiveness of the live attenuated varicella-zoster virus vaccine (Zostavax®), and the high reactogenicity and limited supply of the AS01 adjuvant gE subunit vaccine (Shingrix®) indicate that, the development of more effective and safe vaccines is required. Compared to conventional vaccines, mRNA vaccines offer the advantages of faster production and generally do not require adjuvants. However, no authorized mRNA vaccine is currently available for HZ. Therefore, we aimed to prepare a gE mRNA vaccine and evaluate the immunogenicity compared with the two commercial vaccines in mice. The gE mRNA vaccine elicited a robust humoral immune response, as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen test. The mRNA vaccine binding antibody level was comparable to that of Shingrix® and significantly higher than that of Zostavax®. In contrast, in cellular immune responses, which were evaluated by ELISpot assays and intracellular cytokine staining assay, the VZV gE mRNA vaccine induced significantly higher responses than Zostavax® and Shingrix®. In addition, the antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis activity of the gE mRNA vaccine was comparable to that of the commercial vaccines. However, the highest antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity response was achieved by Shingrix®, followed by gE mRNA and then Zostavax®. Our results demonstrate that the mRNA HZ vaccine candidate elicited robust immunogenicity, especially in cellular immunity, and shows a promising potential for HZ prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76b62de046724f01847d8a5a463a3ad0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2164-5515 2164-554X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| spelling | doaj-art-76b62de046724f01847d8a5a463a3ad02025-08-20T02:57:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2025-12-0121110.1080/21645515.2025.2495607Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse modelEun-Jeong Jang0Sivilay Xayaheuang1Ji-Young Hwang2Yunhwa Kim3Kyung-Min Lee4Seok-Tae Choi5Hye Won Kwak6Jae-Hwan Nam7Keunea Kim8Boomi Yoon9Jae Hyang Lim10Ho Seong Seo11Chang-Hoon Woo12Hosun Park13Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaCentral Research Institute, SML Biopharm, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Medical and Biological Sciences, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaResearch Division for Radiation Science, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Republic of KoreaThe threat of herpes zoster (HZ) is increasing, particularly in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Although two platform vaccines are currently available for HZ prevention, the low effectiveness of the live attenuated varicella-zoster virus vaccine (Zostavax®), and the high reactogenicity and limited supply of the AS01 adjuvant gE subunit vaccine (Shingrix®) indicate that, the development of more effective and safe vaccines is required. Compared to conventional vaccines, mRNA vaccines offer the advantages of faster production and generally do not require adjuvants. However, no authorized mRNA vaccine is currently available for HZ. Therefore, we aimed to prepare a gE mRNA vaccine and evaluate the immunogenicity compared with the two commercial vaccines in mice. The gE mRNA vaccine elicited a robust humoral immune response, as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen test. The mRNA vaccine binding antibody level was comparable to that of Shingrix® and significantly higher than that of Zostavax®. In contrast, in cellular immune responses, which were evaluated by ELISpot assays and intracellular cytokine staining assay, the VZV gE mRNA vaccine induced significantly higher responses than Zostavax® and Shingrix®. In addition, the antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis activity of the gE mRNA vaccine was comparable to that of the commercial vaccines. However, the highest antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity response was achieved by Shingrix®, followed by gE mRNA and then Zostavax®. Our results demonstrate that the mRNA HZ vaccine candidate elicited robust immunogenicity, especially in cellular immunity, and shows a promising potential for HZ prevention.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2495607VZV: mRNA vaccinehumoral immunitycellular immunityFc-mediated immunity |
| spellingShingle | Eun-Jeong Jang Sivilay Xayaheuang Ji-Young Hwang Yunhwa Kim Kyung-Min Lee Seok-Tae Choi Hye Won Kwak Jae-Hwan Nam Keunea Kim Boomi Yoon Jae Hyang Lim Ho Seong Seo Chang-Hoon Woo Hosun Park Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics VZV: mRNA vaccine humoral immunity cellular immunity Fc-mediated immunity |
| title | Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| title_full | Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| title_fullStr | Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| title_short | Varicella zoster virus mRNA vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and Fc-mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| title_sort | varicella zoster virus mrna vaccine candidate induced superior cellular immunity and comparable humoral and fc mediated immunity compared to the licensed subunit vaccine in a mouse model |
| topic | VZV: mRNA vaccine humoral immunity cellular immunity Fc-mediated immunity |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2495607 |
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