Fig. 3. mRNA vaccines induce robust antigen-specific CD8 T cell responses in C57BL/6 mice.

a, Study design and groups (ICS, intracellular cytokine staining); n=10 mice/group received either AddaVax-adjuvanted protein (equimolar amounts of RBD: 0.9 μg of RBD per dose for Rpk9-based constructs, 5 μg of Spike per dose for S-2P-foldon) or nucleoside-modified, LNP-encapsulated mRNA (1 µg per dose). b, Percentage of CD4 T cells producing IFNγ, IL-2, and TNFα in response to a Wuhan-Hu-1 SARS-CoV-2 S peptide pool of overlapping 15-mers. c, Percentage of CD8 T cells producing IFNγ, IL-2, and TNFα in response to a Wuhan-Hu-1 SARS-CoV-2 S peptide pool of overlapping 15-mers. b-c, Each symbol represents an individual animal. Error bars represent mean ± SEM. The dotted vertical line separates the protein and mRNA immunized groups. Statistical analyses have been omitted for clarity but can be found in Supplementary Information.