Transboundary and emerging diseasesMay 8, 2026

A Self-Boosting RNA Vaccine in Fat Particles Protects Pigs from Epidemic Diarrhea

mRNA Technology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated May 9, 2026

Abstract

A single vaccination with the saRNA lipid nanoparticle vaccine elicited specific IgG and neutralizing antibody titers of 1:160 in piglets at 28 days post-vaccination.

Vaccinated piglets showed robust humoral and cellular immune responses.
Significantly higher levels of serum IFN-γ and IL-4 were detected in vaccinated animals.
Enhanced populations of CD4 and CD8 T cells were observed in immunized piglets.
Pregnant sows exhibited higher neutralizing antibody titers of approximately 1:224 or 256 in serum and colostrum.
The vaccine provided active immune protection in piglets and passive immunity to neonates through colostrum.
The truncated spike protein antigen demonstrated greater immunogenicity compared to the full-length spike protein.

Simplified

The development of vaccine platforms capable of inducing sustained, potent, and cost-effective immunity remains a major challenge in veterinary vaccinology, particularly for coronaviruses, which are often associated with short-lived vaccine-induced protection. Here, we establish a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccine platform and evaluate its application using porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) as a representative coronavirus model. A single vaccination elicited robust specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Vaccinated piglets exhibited significantly higher specific IgG and neutralizing antibody titers of PEDV-S (1:160) at 28 days postvaccination (dpv). Furthermore, elevated levels of serum IFN-γ and IL-4, along with enhanced CD4and CD8T cells, were observed. Vaccinated pregnant sows exhibited significantly higher PEDV neutralizing antibody titers (~1:224 or 256) in serum and colostrum samples. The saRNA-LNP vaccine conferred both active immune protection against PED in immunized piglets and passive immunity in neonates via colostrum-derived antibodies from vaccinated sows. Notably, the truncated spike protein antigen outperformed the full-length spike protein in terms of immunogenicity, revealing the importance of careful testing in designing this PEDV saRNA vaccine. The saRNA-LNP system represents a dose-sparing, single-dose vaccine platform with the potential to extend protective immunity, enhance maternal antibody responses, and reduce vaccination costs for PEDV and other veterinary coronaviruses. + +

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Competing interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

PubMed

A Self-Boosting RNA Vaccine in Fat Particles Protects Pigs from Epidemic Diarrhea

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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