Evaluation of a Single-Dose Nucleoside-Modified Messenger RNA Vaccine Encoding Hendra Virus-Soluble Glycoprotein Against Lethal Nipah virus Challenge in Syrian Hamsters

Abstract In the absence of approved vaccines and therapeutics for use in humans, Nipah virus (NiV) continues to cause fatal outbreaks of encephalitis and respiratory disease in Bangladesh and India on a near-annual basis. We determined that a single dose of a lipid nanoparticle nucleoside-modified messenger RNA vaccine encoding the soluble Hendra virus glycoprotein protected up to 70% of Syrian hamsters from lethal NiV challenge, despite animals having suboptimally primed immune responses before challenge. These data provide a foundation from which to optimize future messenger RNA vaccination studies against NiV and other highly pathogenic viruses.