[Research Articles] Vaccines inducing immunity to Lassa virus glycoprotein and nucleoprotein protect macaques after a single shot

Lassa fever is a major threat in Western Africa. The large number of people living at risk for this disease calls for the development of a vaccine against Lassa virus (LASV). We generated live-attenuated LASV vaccines based on measles virus and Mopeia virus platforms and expressing different LASV antigens, with the aim to develop a vaccine able to protect after a single shot. We compared the efficacy of these vaccines against LASV in cynomolgus monkeys. The vaccines were well tolerated and protected the animals from LASV infection and disease after a single immunization but with varying efficacy. Analysis of the immune responses showed that complete protection was associated with robust secondary T cell and antibody responses against LASV. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses showed an early activation of innate immunity and T cell priming after immunization with the most effective vaccines, with changes detectable as early as 2 days after immunization. The most efficacious vaccine candidate, a measles vector simultaneously expressing LASV glycoprotein and nucleoprotein, has been selected for further clinical evaluation.

Source: Science Translational Medicine - October 1, 2019 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Mateo, M., Reynard, S., Carnec, X., Journeaux, A., Baillet, N., Schaeffer, J., Picard, C., Legras-Lachuer, C., Allan, R., Perthame, E., Hillion, K.-H., Pietrosemoli, N., Dillies, M.-A., Barrot, L., Vallve, A., Barron, S., Fellmann, L., Gaillard, J.-C., Ar Tags: Research Articles Source Type: research