AddaVax, AddaS03, and Alum Effectively Enhance Cross-Reactive and Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Responses Against SARS-CoV-2 Induced by the Inactivated NDV-HXP-S Vaccine in Mice
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: We previously developed a low-cost vaccine based on Newcastle disease virus expressing a stabilized pre-fusion spike of SARS-CoV-2 (NDV-HXP-S), which has shown safety and immunogenicity in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Due to the emergence of immune-evasive variants and the need to protect vulnerable populations, we evaluated adjuvanted NDV-HXP-S vaccine formulations to enhance and broaden immune responses. <b>Methods</b>: We tested the antibody responses of mice immunized intramuscularly with an inactivated NDV-HXP-S vaccine adjuvanted with AddaVax, AddaS03, Alhydrogel adjuvant 2% (Alum), or Quil-A. <b>Results</b>: AddaVax, AddaS03, and Alum induced the strongest IgG responses to the ancestral spike protein, boosted cross-reactive antibodies against both S1 and S2 subunits, and elicited high cross-neutralizing titers. <b>Conclusions</b>: The present results highlight the critical role of adjuvant selection in shaping both the magnitude and breadth of the immune response induced by the NDV-HXP-S vaccine. AddaVax, AddaS03, and Alum stand out as promising candidates to enhance NDV-HXP-S vaccine immunogenicity, with potential applications in booster strategies against SARS-CoV-2, enabling dose sparing and reducing costs.
Authors
- Weina Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2435-5047)
- Stefan Slamanig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3694-6597)
- Minh Thu Hoang
- Tsoi Ying Lai
- José Luis Martínez-Guevara
- Adam Abdeljawad
- Lee Benhur
- Palese Peter
- Florian Krammer
- Irene González-Domínguez
- Gagandeep Singh
- Shreyas Kowdle
Institutions
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Applied Diagnostics (AT)
- Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (NL)
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Vaccines
- Published
- 2026-01-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines14020138
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health