Researchers at the German Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and other national and international research institutions have produced a corona vaccine that has a long-lasting protective effect. This was the result of a study on mice that has now been published in the journal “Frontiers in Immunology“ was published.
German research team develops new corona vaccine
The vaccine is a vector vaccine. As is usual for this type of vaccine, it contains the gene of the spike protein, which sits like a spike on the surface of the coronavirus and is therefore easily recognizable by the immune system.
However, the DNA was not incorporated into a modified adenovirus as is conventional – but into the cytomegalovirus, a herpes virus that occurs in humans and animals. The cytomegalovirus thus acted as a vehicle to transport the blueprint for the spike protein into the human body.
The researchers used an animal cytomegalovirus in the production. This was “a clever move”, according to a Press release of the HZI. Finally, animal cytomegaloviruses pose no danger to humans, since, unlike human cytomegaloviruses, they cannot reproduce in humans.
Immune protection remains stable even six months after vaccination with vector vaccine
According to the researchers led by Luka Čičin-Šain from the HZI, “the really big plus” is the long-lasting protective effect of the vector vaccine – even after just one dose of vaccine. “It was demonstrated in animal models that the concentration of antibodies that are available for pathogen defense in the event of a subsequent infection with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus remains stable over a period of six months after vaccination,” they write. Research results from the University of Rijeka, which also participated in the study, even indicate an even longer lasting immune response.
One possible reason for this could be the repeated stimulation of the immune system, which maintains the effect of the vaccine. The scientists now want to investigate the exact causes.
Vaccine also protects against various corona variants
In addition to the long-lasting immune protection, the vector vaccine showed an additional advantage: it protected not only against the wild type of coronavirus, but also against other variants such as omicron. When developing the vaccine, the scientists only used the spike gene of the original coronavirus. However, the vaccine was able to optimally promote a mechanism of the immune system to fight off pathogens.
The scientists are confident that the vector vaccine, which they first presented in 2022, can become an important tool in the fight against corona. “It is also conceivable to use this vector to produce combination vaccines that provide immunity to various diseases in one fell swoop,” the press release states. “The combined vaccination against Covid-19 and influenza would be a useful example.”
