One vaccine against new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2), which causes the disease Covid-19, is being developed by Brazilian scientists.
Researchers from the Immunology Laboratory of the Heart Institute (Incor) of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FM-USP) believe that the vaccine candidate against the new coronavirus could be tested on animals in the coming months.
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According to the director of Incor's Immunology Laboratory, Jorge Kalil, the strategy being used by scientists is different from those employed by pharmaceutical industries and other groups of search.
The vaccine candidate against Covid-19 that is being created by Brazilian researchers could induce a better immune response than other proposals based on mRNA vaccines, according to Kalil.
The first mRNA technology platform was announced at the end of February in the United States. This proposal is based on the insertion of synthetic molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) in the vaccine, so that the molecules can contain the instructions for the production of a protein already known by the
immune system.Thus, the premise is that the immune system will recognize the artificial proteins in order to later be able to identify and fight the real coronavirus.
Unlike this proposal, the vaccine being developed by the USP scientists will use particles similar to the virus, known by the acronym VLPs, as a technological platform.
VLPs are multiprotein structures with characteristics similar to those of a virus and are easily recognized by the immune system. However, these structures do not have genetic material from the virus, so they cannot be replicated.
Because of this, VLPs are safe for use in vaccines. In most traditional vaccines, attenuated or inactivated viruses are used, as in the flu vaccine, caused by influenza viruses. These vaccines have the ability to provoke an excellent immune response, being a reference for the successful creation of new vaccines.
However, the new coronavirus is still little known, so it is necessary to avoid inserting the genetic material into the human body so as not to generate adverse effects, as warned by the researcher responsible for the project, Gustavo Cabral.
To be recognized by the immune system and promote a response against the coronavirus, VLPs must be inoculated with antigens, substances that stimulate the production of antibodies by the immune. Thus, the characteristics of both are united to generate a safe and efficient immune response.
Furthermore, the researchers' project is to produce an antigen delivery platform for the cells of the immune system that can also be used to create vaccines against other illnesses.
In the case of the new coronavirus, antigens are being developed from the identification of spike proteins, which are the regions of the virus structure that interact with cells. Next, fragments of the spike proteins that are conjugated to the VLPs are extracted.
These fragments are tested in the blood plasma of people infected with the new coronavirus to identify which ones are capable of inducing an immune response. In this way, possible candidate antigens can be selected.
According to Gustavo Cabral, these antigens are already being synthesized to be tested in the serum of infected patients. Tests should also be carried out on mice and, if the vaccine's effectiveness is proven, partnerships with other research institutions may be established to accelerate development.
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