Abstract
The Nipah virus is a zoonotic pathogen causing encephalitis and acute respiratory illness in humans with very high fatality rates. Here we report a novel messenger RNA vaccine that directly encodes for a nanoparticle displaying 60 head domains of the Nipah virus G (NiV G) glycoprotein that acts as a highly effective antigen. A vaccine encoding for the NiV G nanoparticle elicits high antibody titers against NiV G and a robust neutralizing antibody response with a pseudotyped Nipah virus system. We ultimately find that the proposed mRNA NiV G nanoparticle (mRNA NiV G-NP) provides a flexible platform for the development of vaccines that will likely be of great value in combatting future Nipah virus outbreaks.
Competing Interest Statement
PB and JH are the founders and owners of Phylex BioSciences, Inc., the company that holds IP related to mRNA NiV G-NP vaccine; PB is a named inventor on NiV G-NP vaccine patent; AD is employed by BTS Research. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
