RESUMEN
Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are likely to be critical in the management of the ongoing pandemic. A number of candidates are in Phase III human clinical trials, including ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222), a replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine candidate. In preclinical trials, the efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 against SARS-CoV-2 challenge was evaluated in a ferret model of infection. Groups of ferrets received either prime-only or prime-boost administration of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 via the intramuscular or intranasal route. All ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 administration combinations resulted in significant reductions in viral loads in nasal-wash and oral swab samples. No vaccine-associated adverse events were observed associated with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 candidate, with the data from this study suggesting it could be an effective and safe vaccine against COVID-19. Our study also indicates the potential for intranasal administration as a way to further improve the efficacy of this leading vaccine candidate.
RESUMEN
The embryonated chicken egg (ECE) is routinely used for the laboratory isolation and adaptation of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in vitro. However, its utility as an alternate animal model has not been fully explored. In this paper, we evaluated the pathogenesis of BTV in ovo using a pathogenic isolate of South African BTV serotype 3 (BTV-3) derived from the blood of an infected sheep. Endothelio- and neurotropism of BTV-3 were observed by immunohistochemistry of non-structural protein 1 (NS1), NS3, NS3/3a, and viral protein 7 (VP7) antigens. In comparing the pathogenicity of BTV from infectious sheep blood with cell-culture-passaged BTV, including virus propagated through a Culicoides-derived cell line (KC) or ECE, we found virus attenuation in ECE following cell-culture passage. Genomic analysis of the consensus sequences of segments (Seg)-2, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, and -10 identified several nucleotide and amino-acid mutations among the cell-culture-propagated BTV-3. Deep sequencing analysis revealed changes in BTV-3 genetic diversity in various genome segments, notably a reduction of Seg-7 diversity following passage in cell culture. Using this novel approach to investigate BTV pathogenicity in ovo, our findings support the notion that pathogenic BTV becomes attenuated in cell culture and that this change is associated with virus quasispecies evolution.