Protection of calves by a prefusion-stabilized bovine RSV F vaccine

Abstract

Respiratory disease: A bovine model for respiratory syncytial virus vaccines Researchers have produced a vaccine that protects against bovine respiratory syncytial virus (bRSV) in calves, with implications for humans. An international team comprising Geraldine Taylor, The Pirbright Institute, UK, Davide Corti and Antonio Lanzavecchia, Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Switzerland, and Peter Kwong, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, NIH, United States, and their teams constructed the subunit vaccine from an engineered bRSVfusion (F) glycoprotein that protected challenged calves by generating a highly protective immune response. This approach allays some of the dangers of whole-virus vaccines. The results warrant further investigation, as current bRSV vaccines have significant downsides.Moreover, as the engineered bRSV F glycoprotein is structurally and reactively similar to the prefusion-stabilized human RSV (hRSV) F glycoprotein, the findings highlight potential benefits of similar vaccines in humans, as no licensed hRSV vaccine is currently available.