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    bhuang36@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Chemical Engineering Position: Graduate

All Publications

  • Merbecovirus S2 subunit vaccines elicit cross reactive antibodies and provide partial protection against MERS coronavirus. Npj viruses Halfmann, P. J., Lee, J. S., Duffy, A., Huang, B., Yang, J. E., Wright, E. R., Kawaoka, Y., Kane, R. S. 2025; 3 (1): 60

    Abstract

    Since the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that has caused a high case fatality rate of 36%, other merbecoviruses have been reported to also be capable of infecting human cells. Given the threat of Merbecovirus spillover to humans, we developed virus-like particle vaccines presenting the S2 subunit proteins of MERS-CoV, NeoCoV, HKU4, or HKU25. Mice were vaccinated with the homotypic vaccines, and IgG endpoint titers were measured against S2 proteins of the same panel of viruses, confirming high cross-reactivity across all four viruses. Based on characterization by antigenic cartography, MERS-CoV and HKU4 S2 proteins were selected as optimal components for a cocktail vaccine. MERS-CoV and NeoCoV homotypic vaccines, along with the mixture vaccine, provided partial protection in transgenic mice against a MERS-CoV challenge. These findings could serve as an important step toward designing pan-Merbecovirus vaccines in preparation for future outbreaks.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s44298-025-00142-9

    View details for PubMedID 40730716

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC12307638