Inactivated rabies-based Lassa fever virus vaccine candidate LASSARAB protects nonhuman primates from lethal disease
Gabrielle Scher, Catherine Yankowski, Drishya Kurup, Nicole Josleyn, Eric R. Wilkinson, Jay Wells, Jesse Steffens, Ginger Lynn, Sean Vantongeren, Xiankun Zeng, Nancy Twenhafel, Kathleen A. Cashman, Matthias J. Schnell
Abstract
Lassa fever virus (LASV), a member of the Arenavirus family, is the etiological agent of Lassa fever, a severe hemorrhagic disease that causes considerable morbidity and mortality in the endemic areas of West Africa. LASV is a rodent-borne CDC Tier One biological threat agent and is on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Priority Pathogen list. Currently, no FDA-licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics are available. Here, we describe the efficacy of a deactivated rabies virus (RABV)-based vaccine encoding the glycoprotein precursor (GPC) of LASV (LASSARAB). Nonhuman primates (NHPs) were administered a two-dose regimen of LASSARAB or an irrelevant RABV-based vaccine to serve as a negative control. NHPs immunized with LASSARAB developed strong humoral responses to LASV-GPC. Upon challenge, NHPs vaccinated with LASSARAB survived to the study endpoint, whereas NHPs in the control group did not. This study demonstrates that LASSARAB is a worthy candidate for continued development.