High protection and transmission-blocking immunity elicited by single-cycle SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in hamsters

Journal article

Vaccines have played a central role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, but newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are increasingly evading first-generation vaccine protection. To address this challenge, we designed “single-cycle infection SARS-CoV-2 viruses” (SCVs) that lack essential viral genes, possess distinctive immune-modulatory features, and exhibit an excellent safety profile in the Syrian hamster model. Animals intranasally vaccinated with an Envelope-gene-deleted vaccine candidate were fully protected against an autologous challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 virus through systemic and mucosal humoral immune responses. Additionally, the deletion of immune-downregulating viral genes in the vaccine construct prevented challenge virus transmission to contact animals. Moreover, vaccinated animals displayed neither tissue inflammation nor lung damage. Consequently, SCVs hold promising potential to induce potent protection against COVID-19, surpassing the immunity conferred by natural infection, as demonstrated in human immune cells

Authors: Lett, MJ; Otte, F; Hauser, D; Schön, J; Kipfer, ET

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: npj Vaccines
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 206-206
• Publication date: 2024-10-30
• DOI: 10.1038/s41541-024-00992-z
• EISSN: 2059-0105
• ISSN: 2059-0105
• Language: English
• Keywords: Transmission (telecommunications); Virology; Computer science; Internal medicine; Immunology; Biology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Immunity; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Telecommunications; Immune system; Medicine; Blocking (statistics); Infectious disease (medical specialty)