Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41369417›Full record

ArticleCells2025

MERS-CoV RBD-mRNA Presents Better Immunogenicity and Protection than the Spike-mRNA.

Qian Liu, Abhishek K Verma, Xiaoqing Guan, Shengnan Qian, Stanley Perlman, Lanying Du

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cells, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Caspase-1 in cancer and inflammatory diseases: a potential therapeutic target.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Qian LiuInstitute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Abhishek K VermaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Xiaoqing GuanInstitute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Shengnan QianInstitute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Stanley PerlmanDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Lanying DuInstitute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5955-1294

Funding

Structure-based design of coronavirus subunit vaccinesR01AI139092 · NIAID · NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER · PI DU, LANYING · 2018 to 2022
$4.2M
Rational design and evaluation of novel mRNA vaccines against MERS-CoVR01AI137472 · NIAID · NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER · PI DU, LANYING · 2018 to 2022
$4.1M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI137472NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI139092NIH HHS 5R01AI137472-06A0NIH HHS 5R01AI139092-06A0
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pathogenic Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV), first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, continues to pose a threat to public health. The trimeric spike (S) protein of MERS-CoV binds to the cellular receptor through the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the S1 subunit to initiate virus entry and infection. Therefore, both the S protein and its RBD are targets for the development of MERS-CoV vaccines. Nevertheless, a direct comparison of the immune efficiency of S- and RBD-based MERS-CoV vaccines has not been made. Here, we compared two mRNA vaccines, respectively, targeting the S (S-mRNA) and RBD (RBD-mRNA) of MERS-CoV for their durable immunogenicity, neutralizing activity, and protective efficacy in a mouse model. Both mRNAs encapsulated with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) maintained strong stability at various temperatures during the detection period. LNP-encapsulated RBD-mRNA elicited significantly higher and more durable antibodies than LNP-encapsulated S-mRNA, maintaining stronger and broadly neutralizing activity against the MERS-CoV original strain, as well as multiple variants containing key mutations within the RBD region. Importantly, RBD-mRNA provided durable protective efficacy against MERS-CoV infection in middle-aged mice, and this protection was associated positively with serum neutralizing antibody titers. Overall, this study identifies RBD-mRNA as an effective vaccine against MERS-CoV, with great potential for further development.

Indexed as

Coronavirus InfectionsImmunogenicity, VaccineMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronavirusRNA, MessengerSpike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusViral VaccinesAnimalsAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralFemaleHumansMiceMice, Inbred BALB CNanoparticlesAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralRNA, MessengerSpike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusViral VaccinescoronavirusMERS-CoVneutralizing activityprotective efficacyreceptor-binding domainspike

Identifiers

PMID41369417
PMCPMC12691421

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.