Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41233323›Full record

ArticleSignal transduction and targeted therapy2025

Immune imprinting toward SARS-CoV-2 XBB: implications for vaccine strategy and variant risk assessment.

Xiaoyun Yang, Guichang Li, Yuan Wang, Tao Song, Tingting Cui, Jingjing Luo, Siyun Chen, Junjie Cao, Jiaying Zhong, Nanshan Zhong and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Signal transduction and targeted therapy, 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. Review
  3. 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

12 authors.

Xiaoyun Yang *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Guichang Li *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yuan Wang *State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0009-0000-5040-3201
Tao SongGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Tingting CuiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease and National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Jingjing LuoGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Siyun ChenGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Junjie CaoGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Jiaying ZhongState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Nanshan ZhongState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. nanshan@vip.163.com.ORCID 0000-0003-2515-5589
Zhuxiang ZhaoDepartment of Infectious Disease, Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. zhaozhuxiang@126.com.
Zhongfang WangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. wangzhongfang@gird.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 81971485
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The immune imprinting against SARS-CoV-2 subvariants that dynamically evolves through sequential vaccination and infection has been rarely studied. Using antigenic cartography and neutralizing antibody (NAb) profiling, we demonstrate that prototype-targeting vaccination followed by Delta/early Omicron breakthrough infections maintained dominant wild-type (WT)-focused immunity. However, XBB.1.5-adapted vaccination after BA.5 outbreaks shifted immune imprinting toward XBB.1.9.1, altering the antigenic landscape. NAb analysis revealed progressive WT-specific immunity enhancement through three-dose vaccination followed by BA.5 breakthrough infection (GMT: I-I = 35, I-I-I = 72, I-I-I-B5 = 807), followed by sharp decline after XBB reinfection (GMT: I-I-I-B5-XBB = 231), confirming XBB's antigenic divergence. To investigate the relationship between population immune dynamics and XBB infection risk following the BA.5/BF.7 wave, we analyzed the immune status of XBB breakthrough-infected and uninfected individuals from May to June 2023 (5-7 months post-wave). Utilizing an infection model calibrated to NAb titers against XBB.1.9.1, we estimated the 50% protective NAb titer against XBB infection to be 1:12.6. Retrospective analysis revealed that 80.3% of the population fell below this threshold in mid-2023, aligning with subsequent XBB resurgence. However, only 33.8% exhibited sub-protective JN.1 titers (<12.6) by August 2024, explaining the absence of JN.1-driven endemicity. This longitudinal study maps the immune imprint transitions from WT dominance to XBB adaptation, providing critical insights into vaccine strategy optimization and emerging variant risk assessment. The work highlights how iterative immune exposures reshape population protection landscapes against evolving coronaviruses.

Indexed as

Antibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralCOVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesSARS-CoV-2FemaleHumansMaleRisk AssessmentVaccinationAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralCOVID-19 Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID41233323
PMCPMC12615778

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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.