title: Immunogenicity of an adenoviral-based Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus vaccine in BALB/c mice.
abstract: A new type of coronavirus has been identified as the causative agent underlying Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has spread in the Middle East, but cases originating in the Middle East have also occurred in the European Union and the USA. Eight hundred and thirty-seven cases of MERS-CoV infection have been confirmed to date, including 291 deaths. MERS-CoV has infected dromedary camel populations in the Middle East at high rates, representing an immediate source of human infection. The MERS-CoV spike (S) protein, a characteristic structural component of the viral envelope, is considered as a key target of vaccines against coronavirus infection. In an initial attempt to develop a MERS-CoV vaccine to ultimately target dromedary camels, we constructed two recombinant adenoviral vectors encoding the full-length MERS-CoV S protein (Ad5.MERS-S) and the S1 extracellular domain of S protein (Ad5.MERS-S1). BALB/c mice were immunized with both candidate vaccines intramuscularly and boosted three weeks later intranasally. All the vaccinated animals had antibody responses against spike protein, which neutralized MERS-CoV in vitro. These results show that an adenoviral-based vaccine can induce MERS-CoV-specific immune responses in mice and hold promise for the development of a preventive vaccine that targets the animal reservoir, which might be an effective measure to eliminate transmission of MERS-CoV to humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Eun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kenniston
authors.affiliation: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: V Stalin
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.affiliation: Supreme Council of Health, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Mohd M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: AlHajri
authors.affiliation: Supreme Council of Health, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Elmoubasher A B A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Farag
authors.affiliation: Animal Resources Department - Ministry of Environment, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Farhoud
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: AlHajri
authors.affiliation: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert D M E
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Osterhaus
authors.affiliation: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bart L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Haagmans
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA. Electronic address: gambottoa@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gambotto
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae; D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002162:Camelus; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / Q000276:immunology; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014765:Viral Vaccines
keywords: Adenoviral vaccines; Codon-optimized; MERS-CoV S