Please cite this article as: Bissa, M., Quaglino, E., Zanotto, C., Illiano, E., Rolih, V., Pacchioni, S., Cavallo, F., De Giuli Morghen, C., Radaelli, A., Protection of mice against the highly pathogenic VV IHD-J by DNA and fowlpox recombinant vaccines, administered by electroporation and intranasal routes, correlates with serum neutralizing activity, Antiviral Research (2016Research ( ), doi: 10.1016Research ( / j.antiviral.2016 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. and fowlpox (FP) recombinants that expressed the VV L1R, A27L, A33R, and B5R genes were generated (4DNAmix, 4FPmix, respectively) and tested in mice using novel administration routes. Mice were primed with 4DNAmix by electroporation, and boosted with 4FPmix applied intranasally. The lethal VV IHD-J strain was then administered by intranasal challenge. All of the mice receiving 4DNAmix followed by 4FPmix, and 20% of the mice immunized only with 4FPmix, were protected. The induction of specific humoral and cellular immune responses directly correlated with this protection. In particular, higher anti-A27antibodies and IFNγ-producing T lymphocytes were measured in the blood and spleen of the protected mice, as compared to controls. VV IHD-J neutralizing antibodies in sera from the protected mice suggest that the prime/ boost vaccination regimen with 4DNAmix plus 4FPmix may be an effective and safe mode to induce protection against smallpox and poxvirus zoonotic infections. The electroporation/ intranasal administration routes contributed to effective immune responses and mouse survival.