An mRNA vaccine encoding five conserved Group A Streptococcus antigens.

Abstract

A commercial vaccine to address the high global burden of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) disease is an urgent and unmet medical need. Messenger RNA (mRNA) lipid-nanoparticle (LNP) vaccines represent a largely untapped platform for targeting bacterial pathogens. Here, we evaluate the immunogenicity and preclinical efficacy of a multicomponent mRNA-LNP vaccine formulation based on the GAS vaccine, Combo#5. Combo#5 mRNA-LNP antigens confer protection from infection in mouse intraperitoneal and subcutaneous challenge models. Combo#5 mRNA-LNP vaccination generates significantly increased frequencies and numbers of effector type CD4+ and CD8 + T cells in the spleen, enhances T follicular helper cells, germinal center B cells and memory B cells in the spleen and draining lymph nodes, and boosts the production of antigen-specific antibodies. These findings demonstrate the potential of the mRNA-LNP platform for the development of vaccines against bacterial pathogens.