Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of an intranasal live-attenuated vaccine against SARS-CoV-2
Jun-Gyu Park,
Fatai S. Oladunni,
Mohammed A. Rohaim,
Jayde Whittingham-Dowd,
James Tollitt,
Matthew D.J. Hodges,
Nadin Fathallah,
Muhsref Bakri Assas,
Wafaa Alhazmi,
Abdullah Almilaibary,
Munir Iqbal,
Pengxiang Chang,
Renee Escalona,
Vinay Shivanna,
Jordi B. Torrelles,
John J. Worthington,
Lucy H. Jackson-Jones,
Luis Martinez-Sobrido,
Muhammad Munir
Affiliations
Jun-Gyu Park
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
Fatai S. Oladunni
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
Mohammed A. Rohaim
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK; Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt
Jayde Whittingham-Dowd
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
James Tollitt
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
Matthew D.J. Hodges
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
Nadin Fathallah
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
Muhsref Bakri Assas
Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Immunology Group, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah 80200, Saudi Arabia
Wafaa Alhazmi
Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Microbiology Group, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah 80200, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Almilaibary
Faculty of Medicine, Al Baha University, Al Baha 77388, Saudi Arabia
Munir Iqbal
The Pirbright Institute, Woking GU24 0NF, UK
Pengxiang Chang
The Pirbright Institute, Woking GU24 0NF, UK
Renee Escalona
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
Vinay Shivanna
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
Jordi B. Torrelles
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
John J. Worthington
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
Lucy H. Jackson-Jones
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK
Luis Martinez-Sobrido
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Population Health Programs, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA
Muhammad Munir
Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YG, UK; Corresponding author
Summary: Global deployment of an effective and safe vaccine is necessary to curtail the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we evaluated a Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-based vectored-vaccine in mice and hamsters for its immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Intranasal administration of recombinant (r)NDV-S vaccine expressing spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 to mice induced high levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG2a antibodies and T-cell-mediated immunity. Hamsters immunized with two doses of vaccine showed complete protection from lung infection, inflammation, and pathological lesions following SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Importantly, administration of two doses of intranasal rNDV-S vaccine significantly reduced the SARS-CoV-2 shedding in nasal turbinate and lungs in hamsters. Collectively, intranasal vaccination has the potential to control infection at the site of inoculation, which should prevent both clinical disease and virus transmission to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
