Replication-incompetent viral vaccine vectors ChAdOx1 and MVA as tools for evaluating T-cell responses to naturally processed antigens in vitro

Journal article

Assessing T-cell responses is critical for vaccine development. In vitro methods using SARS-CoV-2 or recombinant vaccinia virus with B cells effectively activate T-cells but require stringent biosafety conditions. As an alternative, we explored attenuated, replication-incompetent viral vectors, such as modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) and chimpanzee adenoviral vectors (ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2). These vectors successfully transduced B cells, as confirmed by GFP expression. B cells transduced with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (encoding SARS-CoV-2 Spike) activated autologous CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T-cells. Similarly, B cells transduced with MVA encoding Spike activated autologous CD4⁺ T-cells. Our findings provide proof-of-concept support for the use of these safer viral vectors in in vitro studies of vaccine-induced cellular immunity.

Authors: Nazki, S; Reiné, J; Kailath, R; Gilbert, S; Douradinha, B

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Virus Research
• Volume: 364
• Article number: 199691
• Place of publication: Netherlands
• Publication date: 2026-01-10
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-09
• DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2026.199691
• EISSN: 1872-7492
• ISSN: 0168-1702
• Pmid: 41525819
• Language: English
• Keywords: ChAdOx1; ChAdOx2; MVA; B cells; T-cell activation; naturally processed antigens; biosafety