Dirty mice better recapitulate key features of mRNA vaccine immunogenicity observed in humans
The development of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced hospitalization and death rates for infected individuals. However, booster vaccinations were required to achieve full efficacy, and protection waned over time. Our research leveraged a "dirty" mouse model to test whether SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations in animals with previous microbial exposure better modelled human immune responses. We found that dirty mice require a booster vaccination for full efficacy and experienced waning serum antibody titer over time. We propose this approach as a future model for robust preclinical mRNA vaccine testing.
Authors
- Ryan A. Langlois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0515-571X)
- Beatriz Praena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4628-7575)
- Sneh Lata Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6323-2819)
- Jens Wrammert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1733-4424)
- Shanley N. Roach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4186-0846)
- Frances K. Shepherd
- Adam Gilbertsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7998-912X)
- Madison Ellis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0325-5477)
- Devyani Joshi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5285-7725)
- Cera A. McDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9651-1993)
- Lilin Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9528-6990)
- Carl W. Davis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6049-0684)
- Mark Pierson
- Alberto Moreno
Institutions
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Emory University (US)
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (US)
- Emory National Primate Research Center
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-03-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.07.709392
- Primary Topic
- Immune responses and vaccinations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00