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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The ongoing global Monkeypox outbreak that started in the spring of 2022 has reinforced the importance of protecting the population using live virus vaccines based on the vaccinia virus (VACV). Smallpox also remains a biothreat and although some U.S. military personnel are immunized with VACV, safety concerns limit its use in other vulnerable groups. Consequently, there is a need for an effective and safer, single dose, live replicating vaccine against both viruses. One potential approach is to use the horsepox virus (HPXV) as a vaccine. Contemporary VACV shares a common ancestor with HPXV, which from the time of Edward Jenner and through the 19th century, was extensively used to vaccinate against smallpox. However, it is unknown if early HPXV-based vaccines exhibited different safety and efficacy profiles compared to modern VACV. A deeper understanding of HPXV as a vaccine platform may allow the construction of safer and more effective vaccines against the poxvirus family. In a proof-of-concept study, we vaccinated cynomolgus macaques with TNX-801, a recombinant chimeric horsepox virus (rcHPXV), and showed that the vaccine elicited protective immune responses against a lethal challenge with monkeypox virus (MPXV), strain Zaire. The vaccine was well tolerated and protected animals from the development of lesions and severe disease. These encouraging data support the further development of TNX-801.

Details

Title
Single Dose of Recombinant Chimeric Horsepox Virus (TNX-801) Vaccination Protects Macaques from Lethal Monkeypox Challenge
Author
Noyce, Ryan S 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Westfall, Landon W 2 ; Fogarty, Siobhan 3 ; Gilbert, Karen 2 ; Mpanju, Onesmo 4 ; Stillwell, Helen 3 ; Esparza, José 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Daugherty, Bruce 3 ; Koide, Fusataka 2 ; Evans, David H 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lederman, Seth 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada 
 Southern Research, Birmingham, AL 35205, USA 
 Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Dartmouth, MA 02748, USA 
 LINQ Pharma Consulting Inc., Aldie, VA 20105, USA 
 Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 
First page
356
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
19994915
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2779567749
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.