Mueller Brown Karina, Barbeau Dominique J, Xu Lingqing, Bird Brian H, McElroy Anita K
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
NPJ Vaccines. 2025 Jul 2;10(1):141. doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01200-2.
In humans, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infection typically presents as a self-limiting febrile illness but can cause severe complications. Neurological disease manifestations are particularly concerning as they are associated with increased mortality and long-term morbidity. This study demonstrated that vaccination with live attenuated RVFV was effective in preventing central nervous system (CNS) disease in the CC057/Unc mouse model of late-onset RVF encephalitis. Vaccine candidates (ΔNSs and ΔNSsΔNSm) were safe and immunogenic and elicited both RVFV-specific humoral and cellular immunity. Vaccinated mice survived percutaneous wild-type (WT) RVFV challenge and were protected from CNS disease. Naïve mice that received passive transfer of serum from vaccinated animals 2 days post-WT challenge were protected against late-onset encephalitis. These data demonstrate that humoral immunity is sufficient to protect against RVF encephalitis in CC057/Unc mice and suggest the potential of these vaccine candidates to prevent CNS disease in humans.
在人类中，裂谷热病毒（RVFV）感染通常表现为一种自限性发热疾病，但可能会引发严重并发症。神经疾病表现尤其令人担忧，因为它们与死亡率增加和长期发病率相关。本研究表明，在迟发性裂谷热脑炎的CC057/Unc小鼠模型中，接种减毒活RVFV疫苗可有效预防中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病。候选疫苗（ΔNSs和ΔNSsΔNSm）安全且具有免疫原性，可引发RVFV特异性体液免疫和细胞免疫。接种疫苗的小鼠在经皮感染野生型（WT）RVFV后存活下来，并免受CNS疾病的侵害。在WT攻击后2天接受来自接种动物血清被动转移的未免疫小鼠，可预防迟发性脑炎。这些数据表明，体液免疫足以保护CC057/Unc小鼠免受裂谷热脑炎的侵害，并提示这些候选疫苗在预防人类CNS疾病方面的潜力。
