Nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccine for future infectious diseases

WATERTOWN, Mass. - March 29, 2022 - PRLog -- Just one dose of a new nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccine is enough to generate an immune response in animals, and the vaccines currently in clinical use are on track. With minor changes, Northwestern University researchers hope the same vaccine platform could target other infectious diseases.

In a new study, mice that received protein-based immunizations survived 100% when challenged with a lethal dose of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. None of the mice developed lung damage due to SARS-CoV-2 exposure. All mice that did not receive the nanoparticle vaccine died during the 14-day trial.

The nanoparticles, known as SNAs, house immune targets, globular DNA that can enter and stimulate immune cells with extremely high efficiency. SNAs have been tested in more than 60 cell types.

The SNA vaccine has already been used to treat mice with triple-negative breast cancer—more vaccines for other cancers are in development.

Making the drug

Vaccines often take years to develop. But with COVID-19 there has been amazing progress in the field. Mirkin challenged Teplensky, a postdoc in Mirkin's lab, to work alongside Ph.D. student and co-first author Max Distler, assessing whether the SNA platform could be used to create a potent vaccine and expand its reach. The two completed the project in just nine months.

Typical viral immunity consists 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 enhance the body's response to tackle that target when it appears later.

Challenging the results

Two weeks after injection, mice vaccinated with SNA produced the highest antibodies compared to mice vaccinated with a simple saline mixture of the same composition, even better than other formulations 14-fold increase in commercial use of adjuvants (already used in formulations for shingles, hepatitis B and influenza vaccines).

Antibodies are associated with preventing infection, establishing the potential of this platform in the field of COVID-19 and infectious diseases. Protein-based vaccines also have fewer side effects and can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, greatly reducing production and distribution costs.

Stopping future viruses

Using COVID-19 as a case study to compare how well the vaccine worked was mainly practical. But it also calls attention to the broader implications of the SNA as an infectious disease platform.

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