Examining homology between MPXV and immunogenic VACV-derived peptides.

The mpox virus (MPXV) came to global attention with the 2022 global outbreak. Current vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis against MPXV consists of live vaccinia whole virus-based vaccines including ACAM2000®, JYNNEOS™, and LC16m8 originally developed against smallpox. Here, we analyzed 152 vaccinia-derived peptides we identified by mass spectrometry for homology with MPXV-1 and MPXV-2 sequences to evaluate their potential relevance to MPXV-specific immunity.