Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42043256›Full record

ArticleViruses2026

Effect of Acid-Stabilizing Hemagglutinin Mutations on Immunogenicity and Heterologous Protection by H1N1 Influenza Virus mRNA-LNP Vaccines.

Chet R Ojha, Samuel W Rovito, Balaji Banoth, Hyunsuh Kim, Jeremy C Jones, Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh, Po-Ling Chen, Richard J Webby, Drew Weissman, Charles J Russell

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Viruses, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

10 authors.

Chet R OjhaDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
Samuel W RovitoDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-3073-8215
Balaji BanothDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
Hyunsuh KimDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
Jeremy C JonesDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.
Mohamad-Gabriel AlamehDepartment of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Po-Ling ChenDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7179-6144
Richard J WebbyDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4397-7132
Drew WeissmanDepartment of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Charles J RussellDepartment of Host-Microbe Interactions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5683-3990

Funding

COVID Supplement - COMPONENT A OF THE COLLABORATIVE INFLUENZA VACCINE INNOVATION CENTERS (CIVICS) PROGRAM TO DESIGN AND EVALUATE INNOVATIVE INFLUENZA VACCINE APPROACHES,75N93019C00052 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · PI ROSS, TED · 2019 to 2025
$74.6M
NIAID NIH HHS 75N93019C00052ODCDC CDC HHS 75N93021C00016
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While current influenza vaccines often lack broad protection against antigenically drifted strains, some modified hemagglutinin (HA) protein antigens have shown promise in eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies against conserved epitopes. During infection, the mildly acidic environment of the late endosome triggers irreversible HA conformational changes resulting in a post-fusion structure with altered antigenicity. While enhancing the stability of other structural class I viral fusion protein antigens has been instrumental in improving the effectiveness of COVID-19 and RSV vaccines, the role of HA stability in influenza vaccine immunogenicity is relatively unclear. Here, we used the nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP platform to test engineered HA antigens with specific acid-stabilizing mutations (E47K, K58I, R106K, and K153E) in the HA stalk. All mutations increased HA acid stability, but E47K and R106K did not increase immunogenicity. K153E and K58I, but not E47K and R106K, enhanced the cell-surface expression of the HA protein in vitro. In mice, K153E- and K58I-containing mRNA-LNP vaccines elicited increased neutralizing antibody titers against homologous virus. K153E conferred greater protection than wild-type vaccine against lethal heterologous A/PR/8/34 challenge at low doses (0.5-1.0 µg), despite the absence of neutralizing antibodies against the challenge strain. K153E also elicited greater expansion of antigen-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in the bone marrow, as well as cross-reactive T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in the spleen. For the vaccines studied, increased HA expression was a stronger correlate of mRNA-LNP enhancement than increased HA stability.

Indexed as

Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza VirusImmunogenicity, VaccineInfluenza A Virus, H1N1 SubtypeInfluenza VaccinesMutationOrthomyxoviridae InfectionsAnimalsAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralFemaleImmunity, HeterologousMiceMice, Inbred BALB CNanovaccinesRNA, MessengerVaccines, SyntheticAntibodies, NeutralizingAntibodies, ViralHemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza VirusInfluenza VaccinesNanovaccinesRNA, MessengerVaccines, Synthetichemagglutininheterologous protectionimmunogenicityinfluenza vaccinesnucleoside modified mRNA-LNPstalk mutations

Identifiers

PMID42043256
PMCPMC13119996

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.