Repurposing the oncolytic virus VSV?51M as a COVID-19 vaccine

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposes an urgent and continued need for the development of safe and cost-effective vaccines to induce preventive responses for limiting major outbreaks around the world. To combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we repurposed the VSV?51M oncolytic virus platform to express the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen. In this study, we report the development and characterization of the VSV?51M-RBD vaccine. Our findings demonstrate successful expression of the RBD gene by the VSV?51M-RBD virus, inducing anti-RBD responses without attenuating the virus. Moreover, the VSV?51M-RBD vaccine exhibited safety, immunogenicity, and the potential to serve as a safe and effective alternative or complementary platform to current COVID-19 vaccines.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for safe and cost-effective vaccines to control outbreaks globally. In this study, the VSV-51M oncolytic virus platform was repurposed to express the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen to combat SARS-CoV-2. The VSV-51M-RBD vaccine demonstrated successful expression of RBD, induced anti-RBD responses without compromising the virus, and showed potential as a safe and effective alternative or complementary platform to current COVID-19 vaccines.