November 10, 2021
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
The intranasal lentiviral vaccine candidate (Lenti-S) protects brain and lung in a pre-clinical animal model
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily targets the respiratory tract, but its ability to infect cells of the nervous system has also been largely reported. Indeed, the expression of the receptor of this virus, the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), by neuronal and glial cells makes the brain susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, neurological manifestations are present in the majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The development of new COVID-19 vaccine strategies, complementary to those currently implemented, should therefore contribute to the protection of the central nervous system against SARS-CoV-2. To this end, researchers from the Institut Pasteur-TheraVectys Joint Laboratory have demonstrated, in a preclinical animal model, the ability of an intranasal lentiviral vaccine candidate (Lenti-S) to protect not only the lungs but also the brain against the Gamma variant of SARS-CoV-2.