DNA Vaccine Protects Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Monkeys

摘要

Both SARS-CoV-2 infection and a DNA vaccine produced at least short-term protective immunity. Vaccine testing in monkeys often is a prerequisite for human studies. A team from Harvard inoculated nine rhesus macaque monkeys with SARS-CoV-2: High viral loads were found in the monkeys' upper and lower respiratory tracts (with lower loads in the gut, liver, and kidney), and virus-specific humoral and cellular immune responses developed. The monkeys developed pathologically confirmed pneumonia (although they exhibited minimal respiratory symptoms); none died. On rechallenge with the virus, viral loads in the respiratory tract were exponentially lower than on initial challenge, indicating that initial natural protective immunity had developed.