RABIES VIRUS-BASED RECOMBINANT IMMUNOCONTRACEPTIVE COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USE

摘要

Described herein are recombinant rabies viruses comprising a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding an immunocontraceptive protein, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or zona pellucida 3 (ZP3). The recombinant rabies viruses disclosed herein are recovered by reverse genetics, replicate efficiently, elicit rabies virus neutralizing antibodies and immunocontraceptive peptide-specific antibodies in vaccinated animals, and protect vaccinated animals against wild-type rabies virus challenge. Further provided is a method of immunizing a non-human animal against rabies virus infection and simultaneously inhibiting fertility of the animal, comprising administering an immunogenic composition comprising one or more of the recombinant rabies viruses described herein.