Inventors:
Bernhard Dietzschold - Newtown Square PA, US
D. Craig Hooper - Medford NJ, US
Matthias Schnell - Harleysville PA, US
Charles E. Rupprecht - Lawrenceville GA, US
Assignee:
Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia PA
International Classification:
A61K 39/12
US Classification:
4241991, 4242241, 4352351, 435236
Abstract:
Live, attenuated recombinant rabies virus vaccines are generated using reverse genetics to combine the antigenic determinants that render the rabies virus non-pathogenic with the determinants that are responsible for the elicitation of an effective anti-rabies immune response. These vaccines do not affect the antigenic, and therefore the immunogenic, properties of the virus. The present invention further relates to recombinant rabies virus vaccines that express a pro-apoptotic protein, such as cytochrome c, to increase the capacity to induce apoptosis, thereby enhancing the protective immunity against rabies. This new generation of live rabies virus vaccines represents a safe and effective approach to the eradication of rabies in wildlife, and subsequently humans and livestock.