Evaluation of Measles Vaccine Virus as a Vector to Deliver Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein or Epstein-Barr Virus Glycoprotein gp350

Mok, Hoyin; Cheng, Xing; Xu, Qi; Zengel, James R; Parhy, Bandita; Zhao, Jackie; Wang, C. Kathy; Jin, Hong

Measles vaccine virus has been shown to bind signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM; also known as CD150) on activated immune cells and CD46 [58] , which is ubiquitously expressed on human cells. It is thought that virus infects the respiratory tract through SLAM on dendritic cells. In cotton rats, although human CD46 and CD150 homologs have not been reported [59] , measles virus could replicate in the lungs of these animals after intranasal infection [40] . We have evaluated different routes of administration (both intranasal and intramuscular) of MV vectored RSV F in cotton rats and found that both inoculation routes offered protection against RSV challenge after immunization (data not shown). Rhesus macaques possess both CD46 and CD150 receptor homologs [60] and are susceptible to measles virus infection and develop diseases similar to humans. The difference in receptors between the two animal species may be able to explain why insertion of the insert into EZ strain have further attenuated viruses and reduced immunogenicity of the virus in rhesus macaques but not in cotton rats.