A new coronavirus vaccine that is compatible with all mutant strains has been released, and it is compatible not only with the new coronavirus but also with SARS as a whole.
Each time a mutant strain of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) appears, a corresponding vaccine is developed, but SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate at an even faster rate, and the virus mutates and Vaccine development has become a cat-and-mouse game. The University of Cambridge and biotechnology company Diosynvax have developed a vaccine with the potential to provide immunity against all known and future SARS-CoV-2 variants, with promising results in animal trials. did.
A computationally designed antigen eliciting broad humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 and related sarbecoviruses | Nature Biomedical Engineering
New vaccine technology could protect from future viruses and variants | University of Cambridge
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-vaccine-technology-could-protect-from-future-viruses-and-variants
Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine Performs Well in Preclinical Studies
https://www.genengnews.com/topics/coronavirus/pan-coronavirus-vaccine-performs-well-in-preclinical-studies/
New Covid vaccine can protect us from all COVID variants
https://interestingengineering.com/health/this-one-vaccine-can-protect-us-from-all-covid-variants
All SARS-CoV-2 variants have a spike protein on their surface, which the virus uses to enter and infect cells. Many of the vaccines that have appeared so far target this spike protein, but since the spike protein keeps changing due to virus mutations, they are basically only effective against existing mutant strains.
Professor Jonathan Heaney, from the University of Cambridge's School of Veterinary Medicine, who led the study, said: 'Current vaccines are based on specific variants that have arisen in the past, so by the time a vaccine is produced and tested and available to people, 'There may be new variants emerging. We wanted to create a vaccine that would protect not only against SARS-CoV-2, but all of its relatives.'
To solve the problem with mutant strains, Heaney and his colleagues focused on the receptor binding site (RBD) of the spike protein. When SARS-CoV-2 invades cells using the spike protein, this RBD must bind to the cell's receptors, so the RBD can be called an 'Achilles barrier' that is essential for virus self-replication. However, because current vaccines target the entire spike protein, only 16% of the antibodies generated using it as an antigen target the RBD.
In this study, Heaney and his team found that SARS-CoV-2 and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, which was discovered in 2002, trigger a broad immune response against the Sarbecovirus subgenus. We have successfully identified the antigenic structure and generated RBD-based antigens of these viruses.
When the research team created attenuated vaccines and mRNA vaccines based on this antigen and administered them to mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs, they were able to elicit strong immune responses.
Because this vaccine was designed from pre-emergent alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2, it provided strong protection against all these variants. It is thought that it will also be effective against new mutant strains that will appear in the future.
Heaney said: 'Unlike current vaccines, which use wild viruses or parts of viruses that have caused problems in the past, this technology combines lessons learned from nature's mistakes with the aim of protecting us from the future. These optimized synthetic antigens target key parts of the virus that do not change easily and generate a broad immune response, opening the door to vaccines against unknown viruses. 'This is a unique vaccine technology and will truly be a turning point.'
The research team is currently conducting 'first-in-human trials' with the vaccine, which, if successful, could lead to a more effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. It is hoped that vaccines with similar effects against other viruses may emerge.
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