ArticleNature communications2025
Evolution of Omicron lineage towards increased fitness in the upper respiratory tract in the absence of severe lung pathology.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Targeted FcRn to deliver epitope-optimized RBD confers broad-spectrum mucosal protection against SARS-CoV-2.Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2026Article
- Intranasal replicating adenovirus type 4-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccines induce durable and efficacious responses in preclinical testing.iScience · 2026Article
- COVID-19 Versus Influenza Hospitalizations in Late 2025 in Poland: A Multicenter Retrospective Comparison.Vaccines · 2026Article
- Intranasal Replicating Adenovirus type 4-SARS-CoV-2 Recombinants Induce Superior Immune Response Durability and Efficacy in Preclinical Testing Compared to Standard Intramuscular Vaccines.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Predictors of Severe Outcomes in COVID-19: Evidence from Real-World Multicenter Retrospective Study (2020-2024).Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Optimized ACE2-Fc fusion proteins with picomolar neutralization activity against highly evolved SARS-CoV-2 variants.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2026Article
- Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 immune escape using antigenic cartography combined with experimental challenge studies.NPJ vaccines · 2026Article
- The coronaviral landscape across diverse mammalian species in the Northeastern United States.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A non-spike nucleocapsid R204P mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XEC enhances inflammation and pathogenicity.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Virological characterization of SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 variants by assessing antiviral susceptibility, in vivo infectivity and replicative fitness.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Perspective Overview of Changing Population Immunity to COVID-19 in the Context of Infection, Vaccination, and Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
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- Receptor Binding for the Entry Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2: Insights from the Original Strain and Emerging Variants.Viruses · 2025Review
- SARS-CoV-2 variants retain high airborne transmissibility by different strategies.Npj viruses · 2025Article
- Beyond COVID-19: the promise of next-generation coronavirus vaccines.Npj viruses · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The emergence of the Omicron lineage represented a major genetic drift in SARS-CoV-2 evolution. This was associated with phenotypic changes including evasion of pre-existing immunity and decreased disease severity. Continuous evolution within the Omicron lineage raised concerns of potential increased transmissibility and/or disease severity. To address this, we evaluate the fitness and pathogenesis of contemporary Omicron variants XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5.1, and JN.1 in the upper (URT) and lower respiratory tract (LRT). We compare in vivo infection in Syrian hamsters with infection in primary human nasal and lung epithelium cells and assess differences in transmissibility, antigenicity, and innate immune activation. Omicron variants replicate efficiently in the URT but display limited pathology in the lungs compared to previous variants and fail to replicate in human lung organoids. JN.1 is attenuated in both URT and LRT compared to other Omicron variants and fails to transmit in the male hamster model. Our data demonstrate that Omicron lineage evolution has favored increased fitness in the URT.
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