PNAS: The new coronavirus vaccine is easier to produce and does not require refrigeration

Currently available COVID vaccines require cold storage and advanced production capacity, which makes them difficult to produce and distribute widely, especially in less developed countries

Researchers led by Dr.

In mice, the vaccine triggered a strong immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants

Unlike the current COVID-19 vaccine, the new design is entirely based on protein, making many facilities easy to produce

"We can also connect the entire spike protein or other parts of the virus," Pishesha said

Targeting antigen presenting cells

Nanobodies are a key part of vaccine technology

Ploegh said that the current COVID-19 vaccine stimulates the production of spike protein at the injection site and may indirectly stimulate antigen presenting cells

He said: "But removing the middleman and talking directly with the antigen-presenting cells is much more efficient

In mouse experiments, the vaccine triggered a strong humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and stimulated a large number of neutralizing antibodies against spike protein fragments

Manufacturing advantage

Since this vaccine is a protein, rather than a messenger RNA like Pfizer/Biotech and Moderna vaccine, it is more suitable for mass production

"We don't need a lot of the fancy technology and expertise needed to make mRNA vaccines," Hammond said

This may make it possible to produce vaccines in many locations around the world, which are close to where the vaccine is used

"The initial application may not be COVID-19," Ploegh said

This research was supported by the Harvard Society, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Director of the National Institutes of Health Pioneer Award, and the European Virus Archives Global (EVAg) project

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Magazine

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.
1073/pnas.
2116147118

Article title

Class II mhc targeted vaccine triggers immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants

Article publication date

2-November-2021

COI statement

Paul Rothlauf and Sean Whelan of the University of Washington received unrelated funding support in sponsored research agreements with Vir Biotechnology, AbbVie, and sAB therapeutics
.
The remaining authors declare no competing interests
.