Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41029649›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2025

Extensive cross-reactive T cell epitopes across SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spikes with finite immune evasion mutations.

Mengze Gan, Jinge Cao, Qi Ouyang, Xinyue Xu, Xingxing Wang, Peihang Dan, Yinlong Yao, Hui Fu, Xuanyu Yao, Xiaosong Lin and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. HLA-E-restricted SARS-CoV-2 epitopes drive CD8Journal of translational medicine · 2026
    Article
  3. 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

12 authors.

Mengze Gan *Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Jinge Cao *Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.ORCID 0009-0004-5819-8803
Qi OuyangDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Xinyue XuDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Xingxing WangDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Peihang DanDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Yinlong YaoDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Hui FuDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Xuanyu YaoDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Xiaosong LinDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Qing LeiDivision of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. leiqinghust@163.com.
Xionglin FanDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Drug Target Research and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. xlfan@hust.edu.cn.

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China 2021YFC2600200National Key Research and Development Program of China 2024YFC2607300National Natural Science Foundation of China 82302065
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe impact of spike protein mutations on T cell responses, particularly in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, remains incompletely elucidated.

methodsIn this study, DNA vaccines encoding the spike protein of both the ancestral virus and Omicron variants were developed and administered in conjunction with a Th1-type adjuvant to BALB/c mice. Cross-reactive T cell responses to the spike proteins were assessed in the splenocytes of these mice using IFN-γ ELISPOT assays. Additionally, flow cytometry (FACS) was utilized to evaluate IFN-γ

resultsOur study demonstrated that only a limited number of mice, along with a minor subset of their splenocytes vaccinated with the DNA vaccine targeting the original spike protein, exhibited weak cross-reactivity with Omicron variants. This observation underscores the differences in T cell epitopes between Omicron variants and the prototype spikes, indicating that at least 50 and 37 mutations in Omicron variants contribute to their evasion of CD4

conclusionsThese findings underscore the imperative to update WHO emergency vaccine policies and contribute to the development of more effective vaccines and immunization strategies, to better control the infections caused by emerging Omicron variants.

Indexed as

COVID-19Epitopes, T-LymphocyteImmune EvasionMutationSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAnimalsCD4-Positive T-LymphocytesCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesCOVID-19 VaccinesCross ReactionsFemaleHumansMiceMice, Inbred BALB CVaccines, DNACOVID-19 VaccinesEpitopes, T-LymphocyteSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2Vaccines, DNACross-T cell responseImmune evasionMutationOmicron variantSARS-CoV-2SpikeT cell epitope

Identifiers

PMID41029649
PMCPMC12487199

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Registered trials

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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.