A replication-competent smallpox vaccine LC16m8Δ-based COVID-19 vaccine.

ABSTRACT: Viral vectors are a potent vaccine platform for inducing humoral and T-cell immune responses. Among the various viral vectors, replication-competent ones are less commonly used for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development compared with replication-deficient ones. Here, we show the availability of a smallpox vaccine LC16m8Δ (m8Δ) as a replication-competent viral vector for a COVID-19 vaccine. M8Δ is a genetically stable variant of the licensed and highly effective Japanese smallpox vaccine LC16m8. Here, we generated two m8Δ recombinants: one harbouring a gene cassette encoding the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) glycoprotein, named m8Δ-SARS2(P7.5-S)-HA; and one encoding the S protein with a highly polybasic motif at the S1/S2 cleavage si

SUBMITTER: Sakamoto A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9527789 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature