Mouse model for pangolin-origin coronavirus GX/P2V/2017 infection and cross-protection from COVID-19 ZF2001 subunit vaccine

Many severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–related coronaviruses have been discovered, constituting potential threats to human health. However, it remains unclear whether the currently available vaccines are effective against these coronaviruses. Here, we constructed a wild-type mouse model to evaluate pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus GX/P2V/2017 and neutralization efficacy of the approved tandem-repeat SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) vaccine ZF2001. We found that ZF2001-induced cross-reactive and cross-neutralizing antibodies against GX/P2V/2017, and the vaccination alleviated the pathological lung damage caused by GX/P2V/2017 in mice. These results indicate that RBD may work as a promising candidate for pan-coronavirus vaccine development.