DNA vaccine induces SARS coronavirus protective immunity in mice.

2004 JUN 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A DNA vaccine induces SARS coronavirus neutralization and protective immunity in mice.

"Public health measures have successfully identified and contained outbreaks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV), but concerns remain over the possibility of future recurrences. Finding a vaccine for this virus therefore remains a high priority. Here, we show that a DNA vaccine encoding the spike (S) glycoprotein of the SARS-CoV induces T cell and neutralizing antibody responses, as well as protective immunity, in a mouse model," scientists in the United States report.

"Alternative forms of S were analyzed by DNA immunization," said Zhi-Yong Yang and colleagues at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "These expression vectors induced robust immune responses mediated by CD4 and CD8 cells, as well as significant antibody titers, measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, antibody responses in mice vaccinated with an expression vector encoding a form of S that includes its transmembrane domain elicited neutralizing antibodies.

"Viral replication was reduced by more than six orders of magnitude in ...