Three SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants delivered intranasally by measles and mumps vaccines are broadly protective.

Zhang, Yuexiu, Michelle Chamblee, Jiayu Xu, Panke Qu, Mohamed M Shamseldin, Sung J Yoo, Jack Misny, et al. 2024. “Three SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Variants Delivered Intranasally by Measles and Mumps Vaccines Are Broadly Protective.”. Nature Communications 15 (1): 5589.

Abstract

As the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants and subvariants emerge, there is an urgency to develop intranasal, broadly protective vaccines. Here, we developed highly efficacious, intranasal trivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates (TVC) based on three components of the MMR vaccine: measles virus (MeV), mumps virus (MuV) Jeryl Lynn (JL1) strain, and MuV JL2 strain. Specifically, MeV, MuV-JL1, and MuV-JL2 vaccine strains, each expressing prefusion spike (preS-6P) from a different variant of concern (VoC), were combined to generate TVCs. Intranasal immunization of IFNAR1-/- mice and female hamsters with TVCs generated high levels of S-specific serum IgG antibodies, broad neutralizing antibodies, and mucosal IgA antibodies as well as tissue-resident memory T cells in the lungs. The immunized female hamsters were protected from challenge with SARS-CoV-2 original WA1, B.1.617.2, and B.1.1.529 strains. The preexisting MeV and MuV immunity does not significantly interfere with the efficacy of TVC. Thus, the trivalent platform is a promising next-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate.

Last updated on 08/07/2024
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