Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38506509›Full record

ArticleJournal of virology2024

Restoration of virulence in the attenuated Candid#1 vaccine virus requires reversion at both positions 168 and 427 in the envelope glycoprotein GPC.

Jack H Nunberg, Jonna B Westover, Joanne York, Kie Hoon Jung, Kevin W Bailey, Kirsten M Boardman, Minghao Li, Rachel S Furnell, Samantha R Wasson, Justin S Murray and 3 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of virology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Bacterial ghosts (BGs): A promising approach as candidate vaccine.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jack H NunbergMontana Biotechnology Center, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1270-768X
Jonna B WestoverDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Joanne YorkMontana Biotechnology Center, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA.
Kie Hoon JungDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Kevin W BaileyDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Kirsten M BoardmanDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Minghao LiDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Rachel S FurnellDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Samantha R WassonDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Justin S MurrayDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Rakesh KaundalDepartment of Plants, Soils, and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Aaron J ThomasDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.
Brian B GowenDepartment of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9113-2575
Utah State University · USUniversity of Montana · US

Funding

Rational design of a safe recombinant Candid#1 vaccineR01AI150950 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA · PI NUNBERG, JACK H · 2021 to 2024
$1.5M
Design and development of a safe recombinant Candid#1 vaccineR56AI136467 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA · PI NUNBERG, JACK H · 2019 to 2019
$374k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI150950NIAID NIH HHS R56 AI136467
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Live-attenuated virus vaccines provide long-lived protection against viral disease but carry inherent risks of residual pathogenicity and genetic reversion. The live-attenuated Candid#1 vaccine was developed to protect Argentines against lethal infection by the Argentine hemorrhagic fever arenavirus, Junín virus. Despite its safety and efficacy in Phase III clinical study, the vaccine is not licensed in the US, in part due to concerns regarding the genetic stability of attenuation. Previous studies had identified a single F427I mutation in the transmembrane domain of the Candid#1 envelope glycoprotein GPC as the key determinant of attenuation, as well as the propensity of this mutation to revert upon passage in cell culture and neonatal mice. To ascertain the consequences of this reversion event, we introduced the I427F mutation into recombinant Candid#1 (I427F rCan) and investigated the effects in two validated small-animal models: in mice expressing the essential virus receptor (human transferrin receptor 1; huTfR1) and in the conventional guinea pig model. We report that I427F rCan displays only modest virulence in huTfR1 mice and appears attenuated in guinea pigs. Reversion at another attenuating locus in Candid#1 GPC (T168A) was also examined, and a similar pattern was observed. By contrast, virus bearing both revertant mutations (A168T+I427F rCan) approached the lethal virulence of the pathogenic Romero strain in huTfR1 mice. Virulence was less extreme in guinea pigs. Our findings suggest that genetic stabilization at both positions is required to minimize the likelihood of reversion to virulence in a second-generation Candid#1 vaccine.IMPORTANCELive-attenuated virus vaccines, such as measles/mumps/rubella and oral poliovirus, provide robust protection against disease but carry with them the risk of genetic reversion to the virulent form. Here, we analyze the genetics of reversion in the live-attenuated Candid#1 vaccine that is used to protect against Argentine hemorrhagic fever, an often-lethal disease caused by the Junín arenavirus. In two validated small-animal models, we find that restoration of virulence in recombinant Candid#1 viruses requires back-mutation at two positions specific to the Candid#1 envelope glycoprotein GPC, at positions 168 and 427. Viruses bearing only a single change showed only modest virulence. We discuss strategies to genetically harden Candid#1 GPC against these two reversion events in order to develop a safer second-generation Candid#1 vaccine virus.

Indexed as

Hemorrhagic Fever, AmericanJunin virusViral VaccinesAnimalsGlycoproteinsGuinea PigsHumansMiceSouth American PeopleVaccines, AttenuatedVirulenceGlycoproteinsVaccines, AttenuatedViral VaccinesarenavirusCandid#1envelope glycoproteinJunín viruslive-attenuatedmolecular geneticsreversionvaccinevirulence determinants

Identifiers

PMID38506509
PMCPMC11019782
OpenAlexW4392997377

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.