A new study from Northwestern University found just one dose of a new nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccine was enough to produce an immune response in animals on track with vaccines currently in clinical use.
And with minor changes, researchers hope the same vaccine platform could target other infectious diseases.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was conducted by Dr. Michelle Teplensky et al.
In the study, the team found 100% of mice who received the protein-based immunization survived when challenged with lethal doses of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
None of the mice experienced lung damage due to SARS-CoV-2 exposure. All mice who did not receive this nanoparticle vaccine died in a 14-day trial.
Called SNAs, the nanoparticles that house an immune target are a form of globular DNA that can enter and stimulate immune cells with extreme efficiency. SNAs have been tested in more than 60 cell types.
Researchers experimentally determined the ideal ratio between the SNA’s shell and core density that produces the most potent response.
SNA vaccines have been used to treat mice with triple-negative breast cancer—and more vaccines for other cancers are in development.
Vaccines typically take years to develop. But with COVID-19 came astonishing advancements in this arena.
Typical viral immunizations consist of a mixture of molecules from the virus (called antigens) that tell the immune system what its target will be (the virus), and other molecules (called adjuvants) stimulate the immune system to boost the body’s ability to tackle that target when it appears later.
Because the mixture isn’t traditionally packaged together, researchers predict that cells within patients are not getting a potent dose of both antigens and adjuvants.
The team coined the term “rational vaccinology” to describe how co-delivery and timing of these two drugs via one nanoparticle can make vaccines more effective.
Tiny changes at the nanoscale can have big implications for a vaccine’s efficacy and predictability.
The team packaged the antigen (a portion from COVID-19’s infamous spike protein) inside the core of an SNA, and used a specific sequence of DNA known to stimulate the immune system (adjuvant) as the radial shell surrounding the core.
The researchers injected mice under the skin, causing an immune response to the spike protein, and then monitored antibody production in the weeks following injection.
Two weeks following the injection, mice vaccinated with the SNA vaccine had the highest antibody production compared to those vaccinated with a simple saline mixture of the same components, even outperforming other formulations containing commercially used adjuvants (which have been used in formulations of shingles, Hepatitis B and flu vaccinations) by 14-fold.
Antibodies correlate to protection against infection, establishing the platform’s potential in the COVID-19 and infectious disease space.
Protein-based vaccines also have fewer side effects and can be stored at normal refrigerator temperature, lowering production and distribution costs considerably.
Another study shows that you need three COVID-19 exposures to get a broad immunity for omicron.
In a recent study from The University of Manchester, researchers reported the first results of an early trial of a multivariant COVID-19 vaccine booster.
They found the booster could drive a comprehensive immune response.
They found the vaccine has strong levels of neutralizing antibodies, similar to approved mRNA vaccines, but at up to a 10-fold lower dose in the first 10 people.
They also found the vaccine, which is being trialed with the anticipated involvement of 20 people aged 60 and over, who were in good health and previously received two doses of AstraZeneca’s first-generation COVID-19 vaccine, was generally safe and well-tolerated.
The study is published in The Lancet. One author of the study is Andrew Allen, M.D., Ph.D.
The compound of the booster is a self-amplifying mRNA second-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine—or samRNA for short—which delivers antigens from both spike and non-spike proteins.
The samRNA vaccine also produced broad CD8+ T cell responses against targets from conserved SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins and boosted spike-specific T cells.
Based on results, the trial is now being expanded to 120 people, potentially enabling more rapid advancement into a later-stage trial.
The team says with the Omicron variant, viral surface proteins such as Spike are mutating at a high rate, leaving the immunity provided by Spike-dedicated vaccines vulnerable to variants containing numerous Spike mutations.
In that study, they designed COVID-19 vaccines to drive broad CD8+ T cell immunity, an additional key layer of protection against viruses.
This innovation enables the inclusion of a wide array of highly conserved viral epitopes, potentially creating an immune state that may offer more robust clinical protection against current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants and be a first step toward developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about people who are more likely to get severe COVID-19 after vaccination, and findings of vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19 and death.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about drug that can offer much-needed COVID-19 protection, and results showing scientists find new antibody treatment for COVID-19.
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