Hertel Austin T, McMillen Cynthia M, Hoehl Ryan M, Barbeau Dominique J, McElroy Anita K, Hartman Amy L
Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
NPJ Vaccines. 2025 Jul 25;10(1):168. doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01230-w.
Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) causes high rates of spontaneous abortions and neonatal mortality in ruminants resulting in severe socioeconomic and public health consequences. Maternal vaccination may protect pregnant animals, fetuses, and neonates via transfer of maternal antibodies; however, currently available live-attenuated RVFV vaccines are generally unsafe for use during pregnancy. RVFV-delNSs/NSm is a live attenuated strain that has demonstrated favorable safety and efficacy in pregnant livestock, yet studies investigating maternal vaccination as a strategy to protect neonates from RVF are limited. Using pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats, we show that maternal vaccination with RVFV-delNSs/NSm leads to efficient transfer of anti-RVFV antibodies to offspring. These offspring were completely protected from lethal RVFV challenge. Although further investigation is required in susceptible ruminant species, our findings indicate that maternal anti-RVFV immunity is sufficient to protect offspring, highlighting maternal vaccination as a potential strategy to reduce RVF disease burden in endemic regions.
裂谷热病毒（RVFV）在反刍动物中可导致高比例的自然流产和新生儿死亡，从而造成严重的社会经济和公共卫生后果。母体接种疫苗可能通过母体抗体的传递来保护怀孕动物、胎儿和新生儿；然而，目前可用的减毒活RVFV疫苗在孕期使用通常不安全。RVFV-delNSs/NSm是一种减毒株，已在怀孕家畜中显示出良好的安全性和有效性，但将母体接种疫苗作为保护新生儿免受裂谷热侵害的策略的研究有限。我们使用怀孕的斯普拉格-道利大鼠表明，用RVFV-delNSs/NSm进行母体接种可导致抗RVFV抗体有效地传递给后代。这些后代完全受到保护，免受致命的RVFV攻击。尽管需要在易感反刍动物物种中进行进一步研究，但我们的研究结果表明，母体抗RVFV免疫力足以保护后代，这突出了母体接种疫苗作为减轻流行地区裂谷热疾病负担的潜在策略。
