Development of an attenuated smallpox vaccine candidate: The KVAC103 strain

Smallpox, a disease caused by the variola virus, is one of the most dangerous diseases and had killed numerous people before it was eradicated in 1980. However, smallpox has emerged as the most threatening bio-terrorism agent; as the first- and second-generation smallpox vaccines have been controversial and have caused severe adverse reactions, new demands for safe smallpox vaccines have been raised and some attenuated smallpox vaccines have been developed. We have developed a cell culture-based highly attenuated third-generation smallpox vaccine candidate KVAC103 strain by 103 serial passages of the Lancy-Vaxina strain derived from the Lister in Vero cells. Several clones were selected, taking into consideration their shape, size, and growth rate in mammalian cells. The clones were then inoculated intracerebrally in suckling mice to test for neurovirulence by observing survival. Protective immune responses in adult mice were examined by measuring the levels of neutralization antibodies and IFN-γ expression. Among several clones, clone 7 was considered the best alternative candidate because there was no mortality in suckling mice against a lethal challenge. In addition, enhanced neutralizing antibodies and T-cell mediated IFN-γ production were observed in clone 7-immunized mice. Clone 7 was named “KVAC103” and was used for the skin toxicity test and full-genome analysis. KVAC103-inoculated rabbits showed reduced skin lesions compared to those inoculated with the Lister strain, Lancy-Vaxina. A whole genome analysis of KVAC103 revealed two major deleted regions that might contribute to the reduced virulence of KVAC103 compared to the Lister strain. Phylogenetic inference supported the close relationship with the Lister strain. Collectively, our data demonstrate that KVAC103 holds promise for use as a third-generation smallpox vaccine strain due to its enhanced safety and efficacy.