Differential Immune Responses to SFTSV Gn and Gc mRNA Vaccines in Mice and Dogs (raw data)

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne zoonotic pathogen with high mortality and no licensed vaccines. We developed two lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA vaccines encoding the Gn and Gc glycoproteins of SFTSV and evaluated their immunogenicity and protective efficacy in mice, as well as their immunogenicity in dogs. In mice, the Gn mRNA vaccine induced higher neutralizing antibody titers and stronger cellular immune responses than the Gc vaccine did, and both conferred complete protection against lethal SFTSV challenge in IFNAR-blocked mice. In contrast, in dogs, the Gc mRNA vaccine elicited significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers than Gn did despite comparable safety profiles. This species-dependent divergence in immunogenicity underscores the importance of host-specific considerations in antigen selection for zoonotic vaccine development. These findings support the potential of both constructs as candidates for SFTSV prevention.