Table 3.

RVNA titers and percentages of protection of mice vaccinated with insect cell-expressed r-RVG^a

Group	Vaccine	% of mice showing an RFFIT titer of >0.5 IU/ml at day postvaccination:						% protection after challenge
		0	7	14	21	28	35
1	0.2 μg of solubilized r-RVG	0	50	84	84	100	100	100
2	0.3 μg of solubilized r-RVG	0	34	84	100	100	100	100
3	0.4 μg of solubilized r-RVG	0	84	84	100	100	100	100
4	50 μg of cell lysate	0	17	67	67	67	65	85
5	None (control)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

^aSwiss albino mice in groups 1, 2, and 3 were vaccinated using the indicated solubilized fractions of r-RVG, and group 4 was vaccinated with the crude cell lysate prepared from the infected Sf-9 cell pellet. All the groups were vaccinated twice, on days 0 and 14, and challenged on day 35. Mice were bled on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 postvaccination. The rabies virus-neutralizing antibody (RVNA) titer was determined by the RFFIT, and the results are the percentages of mice showing RFFIT titers higher than the protective titer value (0.5 IU/ml). All the mice in experimental groups were challenged on day 35 postinfection with 30 LD₅₀ of the rabies virus CVS strain by an intracerebral route. The percentages of protection after challenge were calculated.