Newcastle disease virus vectored rabies vaccine induces strong humoral and cell mediated immune responses in mice.

• NDV-R2B vectored vaccine candidates generated with glycoprotein of rabies virus. • Efficacy of live viral vectored vaccine candidates were tested in mouse model. • Generation of robust humoral and CMI responses was observed in mice. • CMI response was most in NDV with altered fusion cleavage site and glycoprotein G. Rabies is a devastating disease affecting almost all mammalian animal species including humans. Vaccines are available to combat the disease. Protection against the disease is rendered by assessing the humoral immune response. Recent reports suggest the role of cell mediated immune response (CMI) in assessing vaccine efficacy. In the present study, two live vectored vaccine candidates containing glycoprotein G of rabies virus were generated using the mesogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strain R2B and another with NDV with an altered fusion protein cleavage site as backbones. The efficacy of these vaccine candidates on testing in experimental mouse model indicated generation of robust humoral and CMI responses. The recombinant NDV containing the altered fusion protein cleavage site with glycoprotein G showed the highest CMI response in mice indicating its usage as a potential live vectored vaccine candidate against the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]