Inactivated rabies virus vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prevents disease in a Syrian hamster model.

Authors

Drishya Kurup, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaFollow
Delphine C Malherbe, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America; Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
Christoph Wirblich, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaFollow
Rachael Lambert, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Adam J Ronk, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America; Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
Leila Zabihi Diba, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Alexander Bukreyev, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America; Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas, United States of America; Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
Matthias J. Schnell, Jefferson Vaccine Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-25-2021

Comments

This article is the author's final published version in PLoS pathogens, Volume 17, Issue 3, 1 March 2021, Page e1009383.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009383.

Copyright © 2021 Kurup et al

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emergent coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic. Although human disease is often asymptomatic, some develop severe illnesses such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, and death. There is an urgent need for a vaccine to prevent its rapid spread as asymptomatic infections accounting for up to 40% of transmission events. Here we further evaluated an inactivated rabies vectored SARS-CoV-2 S1 vaccine CORAVAX in a Syrian hamster model. CORAVAX adjuvanted with MPLA-AddaVax, a TRL4 agonist, induced high levels of neutralizing antibodies and generated a strong Th1-biased immune response. Vaccinated hamsters were protected from weight loss and viral replication in the lungs and nasal turbinates three days after challenge with SARS-CoV-2. CORAVAX also prevented lung disease, as indicated by the significant reduction in lung pathology. This study highlights CORAVAX as a safe, immunogenic, and efficacious vaccine that warrants further assessment in human trials.

Recommended Citation

Kurup, Drishya; Malherbe, Delphine C; Wirblich, Christoph; Lambert, Rachael; Ronk, Adam J; Zabihi Diba, Leila; Bukreyev, Alexander; and Schnell, Matthias J., "Inactivated rabies virus vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prevents disease in a Syrian hamster model." (2021). Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers. Paper 125.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/mifp/125

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

PubMed ID

33765062

Language

English