Development of a J paramyxovirus-based vaccine vector

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Development of a J paramyxovirus-based vaccine vector

npj Vaccines , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

J paramyxovirus (JPV) is a non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus in the Jeilongvirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family. Recently, a recombinant JPV lacking the small hydrophobic protein (SH) gene (rJPV-∆SH) has been used as a viral vector for avian influenza virus H5N1 and HIV vaccine development. However, the rJPV-∆SH vector still causes morbidity and mortality in mice. To further develop this vaccine platform, we generated multiple recombinant JPV (rJPV) mutants and tested their pathogenicity in mice. We found that rJPV lacking the syncytial protein (SP) (rJPV-∆SP), rJPV with both SH and SP genes deleted (rJPV-ΔSHΔSP) and a JPV lacking coding sequences for SH, SP, and the putative X open reading frame (rJPV-∆3) were pathogenic in mice. Incorporating mutations in the L gene that mediate pathogenesis into rJPV-∆3 (rJPV-∆3-LW-L) resulted in a fully attenuated virus in mice. rJPV∆3-LW-L-immunized mice were protected during lethal JPV challenge. Furthermore, intranasally administrated rJPV-∆3-LW-L expressing Nipah virus (NiV) fusion (F) induced anti-NiV-F antibodies in mice and Syrian hamsters, and a single-dose intranasal immunization with rJPV-∆3-NiV-F-LW-L induced complete protection against lethal NiV challenge in the hamster model. Our work has identified a novel intranasal vaccine vector that is fully attenuated in mice and induces protective immunity in animals.

Data availability

Data is provided in the manuscript or supplementary files. The data used or analyzed for this study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the members of He laboratory for their helpful discussion and technical assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, GA, USA

    Elizabeth R. Wrobel, Julia Paton-Smith, Caroline Piotrowski, Elif Karaaslan, Maria Cristina Gingerich, Aaron Gingerich & Biao He

  2. Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Stephen R. Welch & Jessica R. Spengler

  3. CyanVac LLC, Athens, GA, USA

    Maria Cristina Gingerich, Aaron Gingerich, Zhuo Li & Biao He

Authors

  1. Elizabeth R. Wrobel
  2. Julia Paton-Smith
  3. Caroline Piotrowski
  4. Stephen R. Welch
  5. Elif Karaaslan
  6. Maria Cristina Gingerich
  7. Aaron Gingerich
  8. Zhuo Li
  9. Jessica R. Spengler
  10. Biao He

Contributions

Conceptualization and writing—original draft: E.W., and B.H.; formal analysis: E.W. and B.H.; investigation: E.W., J.P.S., C.P., S.R.W., E.K., M.C.G., A.G., Z.L., J.R.S., and B.H.; visualization: E.W. and B.H.; resources: B.H.; writing—review and editing: E.W. and B.H.; supervision: B.H. funding acquisition: B.H.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Biao He.

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Competing interests

The University of Georgia has filed for a patent for the JPV vector system described in this work.

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Wrobel, E.R., Paton-Smith, J., Piotrowski, C. et al. Development of a J paramyxovirus-based vaccine vector. npj Vaccines (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01359-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01359-8

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