AUTHOR=Alkayyal Almohanad A. , Darwish Manar , Ajina Reham , Alabbas Saleh Y. , Alotaibi Mohammed A. , Alsofyani Abeer , Bokhamseen Maha , Hakami Maumonah , Albaradie Omar A. , Moglan Abdulaziz M. , Hala Sharif , Alsahafi Abdullah Faisal , Zakri Samer , Almuzaini Adnan , Alsharari Khamis , Kaboha Feras , Taher Mustafa Y. , Zein Haggag S. , Alroqi Fayhan , Mahmoud Ahmad Bakur TITLE=Repurposing the oncolytic virus VSV∆51M as a COVID-19 vaccine JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1150892 DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2023.1150892 ISSN=2296-4185 ABSTRACT=

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposes an urgent and continued need for the development of safe and cost-effective vaccines to induce preventive responses for limiting major outbreaks around the world. To combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we repurposed the VSV∆51M oncolytic virus platform to express the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen. In this study, we report the development and characterization of the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine. Our findings demonstrate successful expression of the RBD gene by the VSV∆51M-RBD virus, inducing anti-RBD responses without attenuating the virus. Moreover, the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine exhibited safety, immunogenicity, and the potential to serve as a safe and effective alternative or complementary platform to current COVID-19 vaccines.