by A team of researchers led by Rong Hai, an associate professor of microbiology and plant pathology at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new vaccine design that accelerates the production of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The vaccine leverages preexisting immunity to the influenza virus to stimulate the production of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, providing faster protection against the virus.
The delay in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 leaves individuals vulnerable to the virus during the lag period, explained Hai. The new vaccine design aims to expedite the development of protective antibody responses, ensuring that individuals are not susceptible to the coronavirus. This accelerated protection is particularly important for individuals who still lack immunity to SARS-CoV-2, such as children.
The study results detailing the new vaccine design have been published in the Journal of Virology. To develop the vaccine, Hai and his colleagues targeted SARS-CoV-2 as a representative pandemic virus and created a fusion protein vaccine. This vaccine combines the nucleoprotein from the influenza A virus with the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. By producing antibodies against RBD, the spike protein’s interaction with the receptor is blocked, preventing the virus from infecting cells.
This new vaccine design addresses a longstanding challenge in virology, as it accelerates the development of adaptive immunity against emerging viral pathogens. Hai explained that antibodies are produced by a type of cell called B cells. However, only a small subset of B cells can generate antibodies against the RBD. To activate more B cells to produce antibodies against RBD, two steps are required. First, the B cell needs to encounter the RBD protein, and second, it needs to be activated by a helper T cell. At the early stages of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, there are limited helper T cells available to activate the RBD-specific B cells, causing a delay in the production of antibodies.
The new vaccine design overcomes this hurdle by utilizing helper T cells that are readily available due to previous influenza infections. These flu helper T cells are harnessed to activate RBD-specific B cells, which expedite the process of antibody production. Importantly, the simplicity of this vaccine design makes it suitable for countries with limited financial resources, as it does not require additional complex or expensive equipment and can be administered in a similar manner to currently available vaccines.
While the researchers tested the vaccine only against SARS-CoV-2, they believe that the new design could potentially accelerate antibody responses to other emerging pathogens, such as future novel pandemic viruses. However, Hai stressed that further laboratory testing is required before the newly designed vaccine can be made available to the public. Clinical trials are necessary to determine the vaccine’s safety for humans and evaluate its efficacy in individuals with various immune backgrounds.
The research was conducted in the newly established biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) lab at UCR. Working with live versions of SARS-CoV-2 can only be done in BSL-3 labs due to the virus’s high contagion and danger. The team needed to demonstrate that the vaccine-induced antibody responses could effectively neutralize live SARS-CoV-2.
In conclusion, this new vaccine design offers a promising solution to the challenge of delayed protective immunity against emerging viral pathogens. By leveraging preexisting immunity to influenza, the vaccine accelerates the production of protective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, providing faster and more robust protection against the virus. Although further testing is necessary, this design has the potential to revolutionize vaccine development and improve global preparedness for future pandemics.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
