A recombinant adenovirus prime-virus-like particle boost regimen elicits effective and specific immunities against norovirus in mice

Prime-boost vaccination using recombinant viral vectors and proteins has emerged as a highly effective strategy for protecting against viral pathogens. However, the ability of such regimens to provide immunity against norovirus (NV), an important cause of acute epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide, has never been assessed. In this study, we analyzed NV-specific humoral, mucosal, and cellular immune responses following intranasal immunization with the recombinant adenovirus expressing the NV GGII4 capsid protein (rAd) prime-NV virus-like particle (VLP) boost, VLP prime-rAd boost, or repeated NV VLP regimens. Our results show that mice primed with rAd and boosted with VLP had stronger humoral, mucosal, and interferon-γ responses than those immunized with VLP prime-rAd boost or VLP alone. These results demonstrate that adenovirus prime-VLP boost vaccination is an effective strategy for induction of immune responses against NV and is a promising strategy to improve current VLP-based NV vaccine development.