RESUMEN
There are no vaccines or therapeutics currently approved for the prevention or treatment of ebolavirus infection. Previously, a replicon vaccine based on Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) demonstrated protective efficacy against Marburg virus in nonhuman primates. Here, we report the protective efficacy of Sudan virus (SUDV)- and Ebola virus (EBOV)-specific VEEV replicon particle (VRP) vaccines in nonhuman primates. VRP vaccines were developed to express the glycoprotein (GP) of either SUDV or EBOV. A single intramuscular vaccination of cynomolgus macaques with VRP expressing SUDV GP provided complete protection against intramuscular challenge with SUDV. Vaccination against SUDV and subsequent survival of SUDV challenge did not fully protect cynomolgus macaques against intramuscular EBOV back-challenge. However, a single simultaneous intramuscular vaccination with VRP expressing SUDV GP combined with VRP expressing EBOV GP did provide complete protection against intramuscular challenge with either SUDV or EBOV in cynomolgus macaques. Finally, intramuscular vaccination with VRP expressing SUDV GP completely protected cynomolgus macaques when challenged with aerosolized SUDV, although complete protection against aerosol challenge required two vaccinations with this vaccine.
Asunto(s)
Ebolavirus/inmunología , Virus de la Encefalitis Equina Venezolana/genética , Fiebre Hemorrágica Ebola/prevención & control , Replicón , Vacunas Virales/inmunología , Animales , Anticuerpos Antivirales/inmunología , Ebolavirus/genética , Virus de la Encefalitis Equina Venezolana/fisiología , Vectores Genéticos/genética , Vectores Genéticos/fisiología , Fiebre Hemorrágica Ebola/inmunología , Fiebre Hemorrágica Ebola/virología , Humanos , Macaca fascicularis , Vacunación , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/administración & dosificación , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/genética , Proteínas del Envoltorio Viral/inmunología , Vacunas Virales/administración & dosificación , Vacunas Virales/genéticaRESUMEN
Infection with Ebola virus causes a severe disease accompanied by high mortality rates, and there are no licensed vaccines or therapies available for human use. Filovirus vaccine research efforts still need to determine the roles of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in protection from Ebola virus infection. Previous studies indicated that exposure to Ebola virus proteins expressed from packaged Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicons elicited protective immunity in mice and that antibody-mediated protection could only be demonstrated after vaccination against the glycoprotein. In this study, the murine CD8(+) T-cell responses to six Ebola virus proteins were examined. CD8(+) T cells specific for Ebola virus glycoprotein, nucleoprotein, and viral proteins (VP24, VP30, VP35, and VP40) were identified by intracellular cytokine assays using splenocytes from vaccinated mice. The cells were expanded by restimulation with peptides and demonstrated cytolytic activity. Adoptive transfer of the CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells protected filovirus naïve mice from challenge with Ebola virus. These data support a role for CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells as part of a protective mechanism induced by vaccination against six Ebola virus proteins and provide additional evidence that cytotoxic T-cell responses can contribute to protection from filovirus infections.