Safety and immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine ZF2001 in Chinese aged 60 years and older

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic remains a significant global health challenge.Older adults are the population at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 or death[1–3].To date,dozens of vaccines for prototype severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)have received emergency use authorization or conditional marketing approval in many countries[4].ZF2001,a protein subunit vaccine comprising two copies of tandem receptor-binding domain(RBD)from prototype SARS-CoV-2(HB-02 strain)[5,6],has demonstrated safety and immunogenicity in populations aged 3–17 and 18–59 after three doses of vaccination[7,8].Moreover,it has shown good efficacy in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 caused by infections from the alpha,kappa,and delta variants after a six-month follow-up for adults beyond 18 years of age in a phase 3 trial[9].ZF2001 was safe and well-tolerated in a large cohort of adults(R18 years of age),and the incidence of adverse events was lower among the participants 60 years of age or older than among those aged 18–59[9].However,its durability and immunogenicity in individuals 60 years of age and older have not been reported and need further investigation.Here,we reported the phase 1 trial of ZF2001 in adults aged 60 or older in China to determine the safety,tolerability,and immunogenicity of ZF2001 in older populations after short(1 month)-and long(6 months)-term follow-up.Moreover,we conducted a post-hoc analysis of serum samples to assess their neutralization capacity against omicron variants.

Cotton GhBAK1 Mediates Verticillium Wilt Resistance and Cell Death

Virus-induced gene silencing （VIGS） offers a powerful approach for functional analysis of individual genes by knocking down their expression. We have adopted this approach to dissect gene functions in cotton resistant to Verticfllium wilt, one of the most devastating diseases worldwide. We showed here that highly efficient VIGS was obtained in a cotton breeding line （CA4002） with partial resistance to Verticillium wilt, and GhMKK2 and Gh Ve I are required for its resistance to Verticillium wilt. Arabidopsis AtBAK1/SERK3, a central regulator in plant disease resistance, belongs to a subfamily of somatic embryogenesis receptor kinases （SERKs） with five members, AtSERK1 to AtSERK5. Two BAK1 orthologs and one SERK1 ortholog were identified in the cotton genome. Importantly, GhBAK1 is required for CA4002 resistance to Verticillium wilt. Surprisingly, silencing of GhBAK1 is sufficient to trigger cell death accompanied with production of reactive oxygen species in cotton. This result is distinct from Arabidopsis in which AtBAK1 and AtSERK4 play redundant functions in cell death control. Apparently, cotton has only evolved SERK1 and BAK1 whereas AtSERK4/5 are newly evolved genes in Arabidopsis. Our studies indicate the functional importance of BAK1 in Verticillium wilt resistance and suggest the dynamic evolution of SERK family members in different plant species.

Efficacy,safety and immunogenicity of hexavalent rotavirus vaccine in Chinese infants

A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled multicenter trial was conducted in healthy Chinese infants to assess the efficacy and safety of a hexavalent live human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine(HRV)against rotavirus gastroenteritis(RVGE).A total of 6400 participants aged 6-12 weeks were enrolled and randomly assigned to either HRV(n?3200)or placebo(n?3200)group.All the subjects received three oral doses of vaccine four weeks apart.The vaccine efficacy(VE)against RVGE caused by rotavirus serotypes contained in HRV was evaluated from 14 days after three doses of administration up until the end of the second rotavirus season.VE against severe RVGE,VE against RVGE hospitalization caused by serotypes contained in HRV,and VE against RVGE,severe RVGE,and RVGE hospitalization caused by natural infection of any serotype of rotavirus were also investigated.All adverse events(AEs)were collected for 30 days after each dose.Serious AEs(SAEs)and intussusception cases were collected during the entire study.Our data showed that VE against RVGE caused by serotypes contained in HRV was 69.21%(95%CI:53.31-79.69).VE against severe RVGE and RVGE hospitalization caused by serotypes contained in HRV were 91.36%(95%CI:78.45-96.53)and 89.21%(95%CI:64.51-96.72)respectively.VE against RVGE,severe RVGE,and RVGE hospitalization caused by natural infection of any serotype of rotavirus were 62.88%(95%CI:49.11-72.92),85.51%(95%CI:72.74-92.30)and 83.68%(95%CI:61.34-93.11).Incidences of AEs from the first dose to one month post the third dose in HRV and placebo groups were comparable.There was no significant difference in incidences of SAEs in HRV and placebo groups.This study shows that this hexavalent reassortant rotavirus vaccine is an effective,well-tolerated,and safe vaccine for Chinese infants.