INTRANASAL VACCINE BASED ON VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES FOR COVID-19 PREVENTION: EFFECTS ON BODY WEIGHT, IMMUNOGENICITY AND EFFICACY ASSESSMENT IN HAMSTERS

VALERIA M. KONDRATYEVA; YANA YU. CHERNORYZH; VICTOR F. LARICHEV; IRINA T. FEDYAKINA; OLESYA V. ELISEEVA; OLEG E. LATYSHEV; TATYANA V. GREBENNIKOVA

doi:10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.56676

Authors

VALERIA M. KONDRATYEVA National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9163-4516
YANA YU. CHERNORYZH National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9848-8515
VICTOR F. LARICHEV National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia
IRINA T. FEDYAKINA National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia
OLESYA V. ELISEEVA National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia
OLEG E. LATYSHEV National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5757-3809
TATYANA V. GREBENNIKOVA National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya, 18 Gamaleya St.-123098, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6141-9361

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.56676

Keywords:

Virus-like particles, VLP vaccine, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Safety, Immunogenicity, Efficacy, Hamsters

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the novel intranasal vaccine based on virus-like particles (VLP) in a hamster model, assessing its general toxicity (through clinical observations and body weight dynamics), immunogenicity (by measuring humoral and cellular immune responses), and protective efficacy (by determining the viral load in the lungs after challenge).

Methods: 48 female hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) received three intranasal VLP vaccine doses (80 or 120 μg) at 14-day intervals. Toxicity was assessed through clinical observations, weight dynamics, and feed/water consumption. Immunogenicity was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), virus neutralization test (VNT), lymphocyte blast transformation reaction (LBTR), and enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot). Viral load in lungs measured efficacy.

Results: No behavioral changes, clinical signs, with no mortality. Post-challenge, immunized hamsters (80/120 μg) showed no significant weight loss. Three-dose VLP vaccination induced robust IgG (geometric mean titer: 800 [800–1200] for 80 μg; 1600 [1600–2400] for 120 μg) and neutralizing antibodies (15 [15–20] and 20 [15–30], respectively). It also triggered lymphocyte proliferation (80 μg group, p=0.012) and elevated IFN-γ-secreting cells (53 and 223 spot-forming units for 80 μg and 120 μg, respectively; p<0.001). Vaccine efficacy was demonstrated by significantly lower viral loads in lungs of immunized hamsters (2±1.0 and 2±1.1 log tissue culture infectious dose 50% (TCID₅₀) for 80 μg and 120 μg) versus controls (7±0.8 log TCID₅₀).

Conclusion: The VLP-based COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated a favorable safety profile following triple intranasal administration in hamsters, with no adverse effects on body weight and no mortality. The vaccine elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses, which correlated with strong protection from challenge and significantly reduced viral load in lungs (p<0.001), supporting its potential as an effective intranasal vaccine candidate against COVID-19.

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