{ "abstract": "Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) are highly pathogenic paramyxoviruses that produce severe, often fatal disease in humans and animals. Zoonotic spillover of these henipaviruses from the Pteropid bat natural reservoir occurs near-annually in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Outbreaks of NiV disease frequently exceed case fatality rates of 75%, and person-to-person transmission makes controlling outbreaks in low-resource environments challenging. HeV is less transmissible between humans; however, the overall mortality rate is 57%. Approaches to human vaccine development have largely focused on NiV given the larger case burden, and immunogen selection has centered on display of the NiV attachment (G) or fusion (F) surface glycoproteins. However, experimental vaccines displaying these NiV antigens have failed to uniformly cross-protect against HeV disease in preclinical models. The HeV (G) antigen was shown to cross-protect against both HeV and NiV when delivered in a protein subunit form; however, attempts to utilize mRNA or canarypox vectors failed to achieve equivalent protection. We previously developed and evaluated a single-cycle recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored vaccine displaying the (G) glycoprotein of Nipah virus strain Bangladesh (NiV-B). This experimental vaccine (G*rVSV∆G-NiV-G) demonstrated ideal characteristics of rapid and durable protection against NiV-B challenge in nonhuman primates. In the present work, we show that the G*rVSV∆G-NiV-G vaccine cross-protects against lethal HeV challenge, with the protective response driven by a balance of both cell-mediated and humoral compartments. Author summary: Emerging viruses Nipah and Hendra were first identified as human pathogens in the 1990s and can cause severe, often fatal disease for which there are no approved medical countermeasures. Both viruses are found to naturally circulate in fruit bats, which can transmit the virus to amplifying hosts such as horses and pigs, presenting a risk to both human and veterinary health. Vaccine countermeasures to protect humans against either virus are not available. We previously showed that a single dose of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vectored vaccine incorporating a Nipah glycoprotein antigen could rapidly protect animals from lethal Nipah disease. Hendra virus is closely related to Nipah, and an ideal vaccine countermeasure should offer protection against both pathogens. In the present work, we performed experiments to investigate whether a single dose of the rVSV Nipah vaccine could also protect against Hendra virus. We found that the rVSV Nipah vaccine protected nonhuman primates from lethal Hendra virus disease and that protection was likely due to a combined immune response involving both humoral and cellular components. Our study suggests that cross-protection against Hendra virus by vaccination with a Nipah antigen vaccine likely requires a T-cell response, which has previously not been described.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America", "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America" ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 12, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Declan D. Pigeaud" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Viktoriya Borisevich" }, { "name": "Jacquelyn Turcinovic" }, { "name": "Krystle N. Agans" }, { "name": "Daniel J. Deer" }, { "name": "Mack B. Harrison" }, { "name": "Rachel O’Toole" }, { "name": "Natalie S. Dobias" }, { "name": "Abhishek N. Prasad" }, { "name": "Karla A. Fenton" }, { "name": "Robert W. Cross" }, { "name": "Thomas W. Geisbert" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/68g66gpq83np7.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646", "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646", "id": "68g66gpq83np7", "issns": [ "1553-7374" ], "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646", "language": null, "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "journal", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "openalex", "2713|Virology and Viral Diseases" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Proteins/Immune system proteins/Antibodies" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Genomics/Microbial genomics/Viral genomics/Viral genome" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Immunology/Immune system proteins/Antibodies" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Immunology/Vaccination and immunization" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Microbial genomics/Viral genomics/Viral genome" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Virology/Viral genomics/Viral genome" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Virology/Viral vaccines" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Immune physiology/Antibodies" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Euthanasia" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Immunology/Immune system proteins/Antibodies" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Immunology/Vaccination and immunization" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Infectious disease control/Vaccines" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Infectious disease control/Vaccines/Viral vaccines" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Preventive medicine/Vaccination and immunization" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Histochemistry and cytochemistry techniques/Immunohistochemistry techniques" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Immunologic techniques/Immunoassays/Enzyme-linked immunoassays" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Immunologic techniques/Immunohistochemistry techniques" ] ], "openalex": "W7214046523", "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646&type=printable", "pmcid": null, "pmid": null, "published": "2026-09-22", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/68g66gpq83np7.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646", "source": "plos", "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014646" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:immunology", "subfield": "immunology" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:microbiology", "subfield": "microbiology" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:infectious diseases", "subfield": "infectious-disease" } ], "title": "A single-cycle, recombinant VSV platform Nipah vaccine cross-protects against Hendra virus in nonhuman primates", "title_text": "A single-cycle, recombinant VSV platform Nipah vaccine cross-protects against Hendra virus in nonhuman primates", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/68g66gpq83np7", "venue": "PLOS Pathogens", "versions": [] }