Vaccination of Cotton Rats with a Chimeric FG Glycoprotein of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Induces Minimal Pulmonary Pathology on Challenge

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Abstract
The cotton rat modelof human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infectionwasused to study the safety and efficacy of a chimeric FG glycoprotein that was expressed in insect cells using a baculovirus vector. Histologic and virologic examinationof vaccinatedrat lungs wasdoneafter challenge with RSV. When rats were challenged 1 month after vaccination, severe pulmonary inflammation characterized by both a mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cell infiltrate and 30%–40% involvement of lung tissue was observed with a formalin-inactivated RSV vaccine. The FG glycoprotein induced minimal lung inflammation(involving 2%–5% ofthe lung), while negative controls had 1%–3% lung involvement. Two doses with as little as 20 ng of FG glycoprotein formulated in an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant completely protected the cotton rats from RSV challenge.Thus the chimeric FG glycoprotein is highly immunogenic and induces minimal pulmonary inflammation in the cotton rat model.

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