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Su, J. ; Hamway, Y.* ; Mistretta, D. ; Liao, B.-H. ; Ma, Z. ; Schluckebier, J.* ; Xie, Z. ; Polezhaeva, O. ; Jradi, W.* ; Braun, S.* ; Robb, J.* ; Main, L.F. ; Mukherjee, P.* ; Jubran-Rudolf, L.* ; Steiger, K.* ; Pino, P.* ; Tenbusch, M.* ; D’Ippolito, E.* ; Ebert, G. ; Protzer, U. ; Costa, C.P.d.*

Helminth infection modulates the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in mice without compromising protective efficacy.

Front. Immunol. 17, DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1827532 (2026)

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Objectives: Helminth parasites infect over a quarter of the global population and can profoundly modulate host immunity, potentially influencing vaccine performance and the spread of pandemic pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite the high global endemicity of helminth infections, their impact on immune responses to various COVID-19 vaccines remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Schistosoma infection on the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of messenger RNA (mRNA)- and protein-based COVID-19 vaccines.Methods: Mice with Schistosoma infection and non-infected controls were immunized with either an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine or an alum-adjuvanted spike protein vaccine. Vaccine-induced humoral and cellular immune responses were assessed, and protective efficacy was evaluated using a SARS-CoV-2 challenge model.Results: COVID-19 mRNA vaccination induced strong spike-specific antibody and CD4 T-cell responses in Schistosoma-infected mice comparable to non-infected controls, despite a Th2/regulatory-biased immune environment, although multifunctional CD8 T-cell responses were reduced. Alum-adjuvanted protein vaccination elicited robust humoral but weaker cellular immunity, with comparable immune responses in infected and non-infected mice. Following SARS-CoV-2 challenge, both vaccine platforms conferred effective protection, with substantial viral clearance and minimal lung pathology.Conclusions: mRNA and protein vaccines elicit distinct immune profiles; however, both protect effectively against SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice with concurrent helminth infection.

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Publication type Article: Journal article

Document type Scientific Article

Keywords Immunogenicity ; Immune System ; Vaccination ; Population ; Vaccine Efficacy ; Antibody ; Cd8 ; Immunity

ISSN (print) / ISBN 1664-3224

e-ISSN 1664-3224

Journal Frontiers in Immunology

Quellenangaben Volume: 17

Publisher Frontiers

Reviewing status Peer reviewed

Institute(s) Institute of Virology (VIRO)