SARS-CoV-2 Doggybone DNA Vaccine Produces Cross-Variant Neutralizing Antibodies and Is Protective in a COVID-19 Animal Model
To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, an assortment of vaccines has been developed. Nucleic acid vaccines have the advantage of rapid production, as they only require a viral antigen sequence and can readily be modified to detected viral mutations. DoggyboneÔ DNA vaccines targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 have been generated and compared with a traditionally manufactured, bacterially derived plasmid DNA vaccine that utilizes the same spike sequence. Administered to Syrian hamsters by jet injection at two dose levels, the immunogenicity of both DNA vaccines was compared following two vaccinations. Immunized hamsters were then immunosuppressed and exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Significant differences in body weight were observed during acute infection, and lungs collected at the time of euthanasia had significantly reduced viral RNA, infectious virus, and pathology compared with irrelevant DNA-vaccinated controls. Moreover, immune serum from vaccinated animals was capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and importance in vitro. These data demonstrate the efficacy of a synthetic DNA vaccine approach to protect hamsters from SARS-CoV-2.
Author: by Eric M. Mucker,Rebecca L. Brocato,Lucia M. Principe ,Robert K. Kim,Xiankun Zeng,Jeffrey M. Smith ,Steven A. Kwilas ,Sungwon Kim ,Helen Horton ,Lisa Caproni andJay W. Hooper ,*
Virology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
Pathology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
Touchlight Genetics, Ltd., Hampton, TW12 2ER, UK
Academic Editor: S. Louise Cosby
