Rhabdovirus-Rabies, VSV

Rabies virus (RABV) is a member of the family Rhabdovirus (Rhabdoviridae). Rabies virus has a broad host range with the capacity to infect almost all mammals. Untreated rabies infections are nearly 100% fatal, causing 50,000 to 60,000 human deaths annually and significantly affecting animal populations. The rabies virus glycoprotein (RABV-G) is the only surface-exposed protein on the virus and is the target of vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) belongs to the Vesiculovirus genus of the family Rhabdoviridae. As a well-studied livestock pathogen, it has been used for gene delivery or vaccine (e.g. ERVEBO, rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP) in human. VSV is a bullet-shaped, enveloped virus consisting of a single strand of negative-sense RNA, which encodes five major proteins. The simplicity of VSV genome enables its extensively application in research field.