Repurposing the Oncolytic Virus VSV∆51M As a COVID-19 Vaccine

Overview

Journal Front Bioeng Biotechnol

Date 2023 Aug 2

PMID 37528991

Authors

Almohanad A Alkayyal

Manar Darwish

Reham Ajina

Saleh Y Alabbas

Mohammed A Alotaibi

Abeer Alsofyani

Maha Bokhamseen

Maumonah Hakami

Omar A Albaradie

Abdulaziz M Moglan

Sharif Hala

Abdullah Faisal Alsahafi

Samer Zakri

Adnan Almuzaini

Khamis Alsharari

Feras Kaboha

Mustafa Y Taher

Haggag S Zein

Fayhan Alroqi

Ahmad Bakur Mahmoud

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposes an urgent and continued need for the development of safe and cost-effective vaccines to induce preventive responses for limiting major outbreaks around the world. To combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we repurposed the VSV∆51M oncolytic virus platform to express the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen. In this study, we report the development and characterization of the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine. Our findings demonstrate successful expression of the RBD gene by the VSV∆51M-RBD virus, inducing anti-RBD responses without attenuating the virus. Moreover, the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine exhibited safety, immunogenicity, and the potential to serve as a safe and effective alternative or complementary platform to current COVID-19 vaccines.

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