title: A double-inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus vaccine provides incomplete protection in mice and induces increased eosinophilic proinflammatory pulmonary response upon challenge.
abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is an important emerging virus that is highly pathogenic in aged populations and is maintained with great diversity in zoonotic reservoirs. While a variety of vaccine platforms have shown efficacy in young-animal models and against homologous viral strains, vaccine efficacy has not been thoroughly evaluated using highly pathogenic variants that replicate the acute end stage lung disease phenotypes seen during the human epidemic. Using an adjuvanted and an unadjuvanted double-inactivated SARS-CoV (DIV) vaccine, we demonstrate an eosinophilic immunopathology in aged mice comparable to that seen in mice immunized with the SARS nucleocapsid protein, and poor protection against a nonlethal heterologous challenge. In young and 1-year-old animals, we demonstrate that adjuvanted DIV vaccine provides protection against lethal disease in young animals following homologous and heterologous challenge, although enhanced immune pathology and eosinophilia are evident following heterologous challenge. In the absence of alum, DIV vaccine performed poorly in young animals challenged with lethal homologous or heterologous strains. In contrast, DIV vaccines (both adjuvanted and unadjuvanted) performed poorly in aged-animal models. Importantly, aged animals displayed increased eosinophilic immune pathology in the lungs and were not protected against significant virus replication. These data raise significant concerns regarding DIV vaccine safety and highlight the need for additional studies of the molecular mechanisms governing DIV-induced eosinophilia and vaccine failure, especially in the more vulnerable aged-animal models of human disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Meagan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bolles
authors.forename: Damon
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deming
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Sudhakar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agnihothram
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Whitmore
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Funkhouser
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gralinski
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Totura
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heise
authors.forename: Ralph S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Baric
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011657:Pulmonary Eosinophilia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D014611:Vaccination; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014765:Viral Vaccines