Nucleoside-modified mRNA immunization elicits influenza virus hemagglutinin stalk-specific antibodies

Currently available influenza virus vaccines have inadequate effectiveness and are reformulated annually due to viral antigenic drift. Thus, development of a vaccine that confers long-term protective immunity against antigenically distant influenza virus strains is urgently needed. The highly conserved influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) stalk represents one of the potential targets of broadly protective/universal influenza virus vaccines. Here, we evaluate a potent broadly protective influenza virus vaccine candidate that uses nucleoside-modified and purified mRNA encoding full-length influenza virus HA formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). We demonstrate that immunization with HA mRNA-LNPs induces antibody responses against the HA stalk domain of influenza virus in mice, rabbits, and ferrets. The HA stalk-specific antibody response is associated with protection from homologous, heterologous, and heterosubtypic influenza virus infection in mice. The highly conserved influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) stalk represents a potential target for a broadly protective vaccine. Here, the authors show that immunization with nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding full-length HA formulated in lipid nanoparticles elicits HA stalk-specific antibodies and protects from heterosubtypic virus infection.