Shanmugaraj B.Khorattanakulchai N.Paungpin W.Akkhawattanangkul Y.Manopwisedjaroen S.Thitithanyanont A.Phoolcharoen W.Mahidol University2023-05-192023-05-192023-03-01Biotechnology Reports Vol.37 (2023)https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/81646SARS-CoV-2 causes devastating impact on the human population and has become a major public health concern. The frequent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern urges the development of safe and efficacious vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants. We developed a candidate vaccine Baiya SARS-CoV-2 Vax 1, based on SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) by fusing with the Fc region of human IgG. The RBD-Fc fusion was produced in Nicotiana benthamiana. Previously, we reported that this plant-produced vaccine is effective in inducing immune response in both mice and non-human primates. Here, the efficacy of our vaccine candidate was tested in Syrian hamster challenge model. Hamsters immunized with two intramuscular doses of Baiya SARS-CoV-2 Vax 1 induced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and protected from SARS-CoV-2 challenge with reduced viral load in the lungs. These preliminary results demonstrate the ability of plant-produced subunit vaccine Baiya SARS-CoV-2 Vax 1 to provide protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters.Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyArticleSCOPUS10.1016/j.btre.2022.e007792-s2.0-851440323602215017X