Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39191724›Full record

ArticleNature communications2024

Simulation-driven design of stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike S2 immunogens.

Xandra Nuqui, Lorenzo Casalino, Ling Zhou, Mohamed Shehata, Albert Wang, Alexandra L Tse, Anupam A Ojha, Fiona L Kearns, Mia A Rosenfeld, Emily Happy Miller and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing 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

22 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. D614G reshapes allosteric networks and opening mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 spikes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  5. TMPRSS2-mediated coronavirus spike activation and inhibition.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Artificial intelligence directed computational protein design: lessons from COVID-19 for pandemic-ready vaccines and antibody therapeutics.Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 entry: implications for biomedical strategies.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025
    Review
  12. Broad neutralizing antibody response of a monomeric spike-based SARS-CoV-2 bivalent vaccine against diverse variants.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Structural Immunology of SARS-CoV-2.Immunological reviews · 2025
    Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
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

15 authors.

Xandra Nuqui *Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9615-8918
Lorenzo Casalino *Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3581-1148
Ling ZhouDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3402-5719
Mohamed ShehataDepartment of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Albert WangDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1162-6837
Alexandra L TseDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1629-6526
Anupam A OjhaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Fiona L KearnsDepartment of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Mia A RosenfeldDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Emily Happy MillerDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Cory M AcremanDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Surl-Hee AhnDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3422-805X
Kartik ChandranDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Jason S McLellanDepartment of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3991-542X
Rommie E AmaroDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. ramaro@ucsd.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-9275-9553

Funding

MEDICAL SCIENTIST TRAINING PROGRAMT32GM007288 · NIGMS · YESHIVA UNIVERSITY · PI AKABAS, MYLES H. · 1985 to 2022
$35.6M
Molecular Biophysics Training Grant at UC San DiegoT32GM139795 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Galia Debelouchina, ELIZABETH A. KOMIVES · 2021 to 2026
$3.0M
Engineering Immunity for Broad Protection Against BetacoronavirusesK08AI180364 · NIAID · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI Emily Happy Miller · 2024 to 2026
$599k
NIAID NIH HHS K08 AI180364NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007288NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM139795Welch Foundation F-0003-19620604
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The full-length prefusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) is the principal antigen of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine efficacy has been impacted by emerging variants of concern that accumulate most of the sequence modifications in the immunodominant S1 subunit. S2, in contrast, is the most evolutionarily conserved region of the spike and can elicit broadly neutralizing and protective antibodies. Yet, S2's usage as an alternative vaccine strategy is hampered by its general instability. Here, we use a simulation-driven approach to design S2-only immunogens stabilized in a closed prefusion conformation. Molecular simulations provide a mechanistic characterization of the S2 trimer's opening, informing the design of tryptophan substitutions that impart kinetic and thermodynamic stabilization. Structural characterization via cryo-EM shows the molecular basis of S2 stabilization in the closed prefusion conformation. Informed by molecular simulations and corroborated by experiments, we report an engineered S2 immunogen that exhibits increased protein expression, superior thermostability, and preserved immunogenicity against sarbecoviruses.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesMolecular Dynamics SimulationSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAnimalsAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansProtein StabilityAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralCOVID-19 VaccinesSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID39191724
PMCPMC11350062

What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.