Immunogenicity and Efficacy of Monovalent and Bivalent Formulations of a Virus-Like Particle Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) offer great potential as a safe and effective vaccine platform against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 VLPs can be generated by expression of the four viral structural proteins in a mammalian expression system. Immunization of mice with a monovalent VLP vaccine elicited a potent humoral response, showing neutralizing activity against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. Subsequent immunogenicity and efficacy studies were performed in the Golden Syrian hamster model, which closely resembles the pathology and progression of COVID-19 in humans. Hamsters immunized with a bivalent VLP vaccine were significantly protected from infection with the Beta or Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccinated hamsters showed reduced viral load, shedding, replication, and pathology in the respiratory tract. Immunized hamsters also showed variable levels of cross-neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant. Overall, the VLP vaccine elicited robust protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. These promising results warrant further study of multivalent VLP vaccines in Phase I clinical trials in humans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 24, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.3390/vaccines10121997
Entities
People
- Aleksandra Alimova
- Hannah Mulhall Maasz
- Helle Bielefeldt-ohmann
- Jorge Morales
- Jose M. Galarza
- Kaitlyn Garvey
- Ke Wen
- Leslie Gallardo
- Matthew D. Resch
- Mirjana Persaud
- Paul Gottlieb
- Reza Khayat
- Richard A. Bowen
- Ryan Mazboudi
Organizations
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- United States Department of Defense