Protective efficacy of a hemagglutinin-based mRNA vaccine against H5N1 influenza virus challenge in lactating dairy cows

作者：Huihui Kong, Jiaxin Yang, Jianzhong Shi, Pengfei Cui, Xianying Zeng, Wenyu Liu, Xijun He, X. Zhang, Lei Chen, Yichao Zhuang, Yan Wang, Jinming Ma, J. P. Li, Yaping Zhang, Congcong Wang, Chaoxing He, Jiongjie Li, Jinyu Yang, Jianwen Liu, Pucheng Chen, Yuntao Guan, Zhigao Bu, Yongping Jiang, Hualan Chen · 发表于：Research · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.34133/research.1104 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Influenza Virus Research Studies、Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology、Animal Virus Infections Studies

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus has spread to over 1,080 dairy farms across 18 states in the United States, resulting in 41 human infections and posing serious risks to both animal and public health. To address these risks, a hemagglutinin-based mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine was developed, and its safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in high-yielding lactating dairy cows were evaluated. The vaccine was well tolerated, had no adverse effects on health or milk production, and induced strong antibody responses. Two weeks after the second immunization, all the immunized cattle were fully protected against a high-dose H5N1 virus challenge. Notably, two-thirds of the cattle were still completely protected even at the 19th week after the first vaccination, when their serum antibody levels were very low. These data demonstrate that the mRNA vaccine confers robust, lasting protection against H5N1 virus in lactating dairy cows, providing a foundation for clinical trials.