Which cells do mRNA vaccines target? mRNA vaccines instruct cells to produce spike protein that will trigger an immune response. But which types of cells will it work on? and which cells will it not work on?

I’m assuming the question refers to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in which Lipid NanoParticles (LNP) are used and to the injection to be intramuscular (i.m.). According to a blog by Derek Lowe [1], the parts of your body producing the coronavirus Sprike protein antigen are:

> the muscle tissue at the site of injection, the lymphatic tissue downstream in your armpit on that side, your spleen, and (for the first day or two) your liver.

In other words, it is not only your muscle cells that become the antigen factory.


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[1] Lowe, Derek (2021) “mRNA Vaccines: What happens”, Science Translational Medicine, AAAS, < .