Next-gen novel nanocage-based multivalent vaccine candidate to tackle the rising menace of Mpox
The recent emergence and global spread of the human Monkeypox virus (MPXV), including its transmission to non-endemic regions, have raised significant global health concerns. In this proof-of-concept study, we developed a recombinant protein-based MPXV vaccine candidate, employing an innovative and versatile multivalent, self-assembled nanocage protein scaffold. Two immunogenic antigens derived from the contemporary circulating MPXV strain have been incorporated into a self-assembled non-structural protein-10 (NSP-10) scaffold, expressed, and purified using an Escherichia coli expression system without a purification tag. The vaccine candidate elicited strong antibody responses in mice and conferred protection against the lethal Vaccinia virus in an intranasal and skin pock in vivo study. Additionally, an intranasal challenge with the MPXV strain clade IIb in immunized mice demonstrated promising outcomes, including a significant reduction in viral titres and eliciting a robust neutralizing antibody response. This study demonstrates a feasible, scalable, and cost-effective approach for the development of the MPXV vaccine.
Authors
- Vikas Maithil
- Devendra Yadav (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7120-9288)
- Sweety Samal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7894-8756)
- Rahul Ahuja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4548-3870)
- Sarjeet Singh
- Shubbir Ahmed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1655-6735)
- Priyanka Priyadarsiny
- Anup K. Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5180-0727)
- Preeti Vishwakarma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8530-4860)
- Ritika Khatri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7930-8715)
- Zaigham Abbas Rizvi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7850-5672)
- A. K. Awasthi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4388-4147)
- Vidya Mangala Prasad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4215-5700)
- Surbhi Mishra
- Abhisek Chatterjee
- Varun Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7220-8471)
- Ananya Chatterjee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5378-4193)
- Pooja Yadav (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0542-6951)
- Gurleen Kaur
- Sangita Kumari Sinha
- Akanksha Chauhan
- Syed Khalid Ali
- Kunal Tarane
Institutions
- Panacea Biotec (India) (IN)
- Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (IN)
- Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Vaccines
- Published
- 2025-06-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01174-1
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Poxvirus research and outbreaks
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.07
Funders
- Indian Institute of Science
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology
- Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
- Indian Council of Medical Research
- Translational Health Science and Technology Institute
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research