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Espeseth AS, Yuan M, Citron M, Reiserova L, Morrow G, Wilson A, Horton M, Rukhman M, Kinek K, Hou F, Li SL, Li F, Choi Y, Heidecker G, Luo B, Wu G, Zhang L, Strable E, DeStefano J, Secore S, Mukhopadhyay TK, Richardson DD, Sayeed E, Welch LS, Bett AJ, Feinberg MB, Gupta SB, Cooper CL, Parks CL. Preclinical immunogenicity and efficacy of a candidate COVID-19 vaccine based on a vesicular stomatitis virus-SARS-CoV-2 chimera. EBioMedicine 2022; 82:104203. [PMID: 35915046 PMCID: PMC9338221 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background To investigate a vaccine technology with potential to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and reduce transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with a single vaccine dose, we developed a SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccine using the live vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) chimeric virus approach previously used to develop a licensed Ebola virus vaccine. Methods We generated a replication-competent chimeric VSV-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate by replacing the VSV glycoprotein (G) gene with coding sequence for the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein (S). Immunogenicity of the lead vaccine candidate (VSV∆G-SARS-CoV-2) was evaluated in cotton rats and golden Syrian hamsters, and protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection also was assessed in hamsters. Findings VSV∆G-SARS-CoV-2 delivered with a single intramuscular (IM) injection was immunogenic in cotton rats and hamsters and protected hamsters from weight loss following SARS-CoV-2 challenge. When mucosal vaccination was evaluated, cotton rats did not respond to the vaccine, whereas mucosal administration of VSV∆G-SARS-CoV-2 was found to be more immunogenic than IM injection in hamsters and induced immunity that significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 challenge virus loads in both lung and nasal tissues. Interpretation VSV∆G-SARS-CoV-2 delivered by IM injection or mucosal administration was immunogenic in golden Syrian hamsters, and both vaccination methods effectively protected the lung from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Hamsters vaccinated by mucosal application of VSV∆G-SARS-CoV-2 also developed immunity that controlled SARS-CoV-2 replication in nasal tissue. Funding The study was funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme, Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, and The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), New York, USA. Parts of this research was supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the US Department of Defense.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maoli Yuan
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | - Lucia Reiserova
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | - Gavin Morrow
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | - Aaron Wilson
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | - Mark Rukhman
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | - Fuxiang Hou
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | - Shui L Li
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | - Yesle Choi
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | - Bin Luo
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Guoxin Wu
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Lan Zhang
- Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA
| | | | - Joanne DeStefano
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | | | | | | | - Eddy Sayeed
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), New York, USA
| | - Lisa S Welch
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), New York, USA; Currently at Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Mark B Feinberg
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), New York, USA
| | - Swati B Gupta
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), New York, USA
| | - Christopher L Cooper
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA
| | - Christopher L Parks
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Inc. (IAVI), Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, New York, USA.
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