Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42113852›Full record

ArticlePLoS pathogens2026

A circular RNA vaccine induces durable and cross-protective immunity against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in mice.

Qiqi Zhang, Dongyu Niu, Yusheng Jia, Lirong Lu, Wenting Wu, Changbin Qu, Zeyun Sun, Shixiong Li, Zhining Liu, Jing Lv and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS pathogens, 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. 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

17 authors.

Qiqi ZhangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Dongyu NiuGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Yusheng JiaGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Lirong LuGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Wenting WuGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Changbin QuGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Zeyun SunKingMed School of Laboratory Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Shixiong LiGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Zhining LiuInstitute of Pathogenic Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China.
Jing LvInstitute of Health Inspection and Testing, Hubei Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Hubei CDC), Wuhan, China.
Wentao WangSCIEX, Beijing, China.
Jingyou YuGuangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, China.
Long ZhangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Chuwen LiGuangzhou Municipal and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Target & Clinical Pharmacology, the NMPA and State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China‌‌.
Wei PengState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qingqing ZhangState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Shuai WeiState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0009-0004-6338-1418

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) remains a major global cause of meningitis and septicemia. However, MenB vaccine development is hindered by antigenic diversity and manufacturing challenges associated with outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) or lipoproteins in resource-limited settings. Here, we engineered a high-purity circular RNA (circRNA) vaccine encoding a bacterial-derived, sequence-optimized fusion antigen of factor H binding protein (fHbp) and Neisserial heparin-binding antigen (NHBA) (fHbp-NHBA), which preserves key bactericidal epitopes in eukaryotic systems. The vaccine elicited potent functional antibody responses by serum bactericidal assay (SBA) using human complement and potent IFN-γ-secreting CD8 + T-cell responses. Crucially, the circRNA vaccine at a low dose provided complete protection and reduced bacteremia against lethal MenB challenge and demonstrated cross protection against a panel of prevalent strains in China. Both single- and two-dose regimens of the circRNA vaccine induced durable immune responses, and the two-dose immunization achieved strain coverage comparable to that of licensed MenB vaccines. Moreover, sera adoptively transferred from the circRNA-immunized group to neonatal rat pups dramatically reduced bacterial loads in blood. This study establishes a foundation for circRNA-based vaccines against bacterial pathogens.

Indexed as

Cross ProtectionMeningococcal InfectionsMeningococcal VaccinesNeisseria meningitidis, Serogroup BRNARNA, CircularAnimalsAntibodies, BacterialAntigens, BacterialBacterial ProteinsFemaleHumansMiceRatsAntibodies, BacterialAntigens, BacterialBacterial Proteinsfactor H-binding protein, Neisseria meningitidisMeningococcal VaccinesRNARNA, Circular

Identifiers

PMID42113852
PMCPMC13160355

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.