title: Immunogenic virus-like particles continuously expressed in mammalian cells as a veterinary rabies vaccine candidate.
abstract: Rabies is one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the world, with a mortality approaching 100%. There are between 60,000 and 70,000 reported annual deaths, but this is probably an underestimation. Despite the fact that there are vaccines available for rabies, there is a real need of developing more efficacious and cheaper vaccines. This is particularly true for veterinary vaccines because dogs are still the main vector for rabies transmission to human beings. In a previous work, we described the development and characterization of rabies virus-like particles (RV-VLPs) expressed in HEK293 cells. We showed that RV-VLPs are able to induce a specific antibodies response. In this work, we show that VLPs are able to protect mice against virus challenge. Furthermore, we developed a VLPs expressing HEK-293 clone (sP2E5) that grows in serum free medium (SFM) reaching high cell densities. sP2E5 was cultured in perfusion mode in a 5 L bioreactor for 20 days, and the RV-VLPs produced were capable of triggering a protective immune response without the need of concentration or adjuvant addition. Further, these VLPs are able to induce the production of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies. These results demonstrate that RV-VLPs are a promising rabies vaccine candidate.
authors: Laboratorio de Cultivos Celulares, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Ciudad Universitaria, Paraje "El Pozo"-C.C. 242, S3000ZAA Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors: Diego
authors: D
authors: Fontana
authors: Laboratorio de Cultivos Celulares, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Ciudad Universitaria, Paraje "El Pozo"-C.C. 242, S3000ZAA Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors: Ricardo
authors: R
authors: Kratje
authors: Laboratorio de Cultivos Celulares, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Ciudad Universitaria, Paraje "El Pozo"-C.C. 242, S3000ZAA Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Etcheverrigaray
authors: Laboratorio de Cultivos Celulares, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Ciudad Universitaria, Paraje "El Pozo"-C.C. 242, S3000ZAA Santa Fe, Argentina. Electronic address: cprieto@fbcb.unl.edu.ar.
authors: Claudio
authors: C
authors: Prieto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D019149:Bioreactors; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004285:Dogs; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D011818:Rabies / Q000517:prevention & control; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D064166:Vaccine Potency; D058425:Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D058425:Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle
keywords: HEK293 cells; Rabies; Serum free media; Vaccine; Virus-like particles