Ebola virus from Mali blood sample
Infectious disease scientists report early development of a potential universal vaccine for Ebola viruses that preclinical tests show might neutralize all four species of these deadly viruses infecting people in recent outbreaks, mainly in Africa.
Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s report their preclinical results in the Journal of Virology, published by the American Society for Microbiology ahead of print publication on May 9.
Although still in early preclinical testing, researchers report that their data indicate that the prospective vaccine has potential to be a stand-alone protection from Ebola. It also could broaden and extend the durability of protective immunity induced by current live vaccines already being tested in clinical trials against individual Ebola virus species, said Karnail Singh, PhD, the study’s co-principal investigator in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
“This could be a significant advancement in the global effort to prevent or manage Ebola outbreaks, especially if this vaccine used alone or in combination with another Ebola vaccine results in long-term and durable protective immunity against different Ebola viruses,” Singh said.
A deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2013 and 2016 accelerated international efforts to develop vaccines for these highly infectious and harmful viruses. This led to development of recombinant Ebola vaccines in which glycoprotein from Zaire Ebola virus is engineered into another modified live viral vector. When administered, these live vaccines induce immune responses against the Ebola glycoprotein that, in turn, protect against any subsequent attack by the Ebola virus.
Singh and colleagues report that while the live-vector vaccines are producing encouraging results in clinical trials, until the current study none of the new vaccines under development have been shown to induce immune responses that cross-react against multiple Ebola virus species that cause the deadly disease in humans.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
The new vaccine takes a novel approach, according to the study. The researchers designed a bivalent, spherical Ebola virus-like particle (VLP) that incorporates two genetically diverse glycoproteins (one each from the Zaire Ebola virus and Sudan Ebola virus) on a spherical core. This approach will not cause illness in the recipient as the VLPs lack the genetic material and do not multiply. The vaccine works by stimulating immune responses against Ebola that generate virus-fighting antibodies to attack the different virus species.
When the researchers administered their new Ebola VLP vaccine to appropriate animal models, it produced robust immune responses against Ebola virus species known to be pathogenic in humans.
Although the new vaccine uses glycoproteins from two Ebola virus species, Singh said it might work against all four known pathogenic Ebola viruses as responses to one of the glycoproteins generates cross-reactive responses against two other Ebola virus species.
MORE TESTING NEEDED
The researchers emphasize that extensive additional preclinical testing of the prospective Ebola VLP vaccine is needed before it could potentially be tested in clinical trials.
A key collaborator on the multi-institutional study — which included the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Emory University School of Medicine, and the University of Louisiana’s New Iberia Research Center – was Paul Spearman, MD, Director, Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children’s.
Spearman said at the moment, vaccine challenge experiments are in the planning stages. They will involve working in collaboration with an institution that has Level 4 biosafety facilities and will require additional external funding to move this promising research forward.
“If the data from those studies is equally encouraging, the vaccine should be ready to progress to generation of clinical grade material for human trials,” he said.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Ebola vaccine
- Moderna to set up $500 mn mRNA vaccine facility in Kenya
US biotech company Moderna has finalized an agreement to set up a $500 million mRNA vaccine facility in Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto said Thursday.
- GeoVax to Participate at the World Vaccine Congress with Multiple Presentations
New data from the ongoing Phase 2 trial of GEO-CM04S1 to be presented Atlanta, GA, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX), a biotechnology company ...
- Ebola's exponential growth
Until and unless a vaccine becomes available in very large quantities, the only way to stop the exponential spread of Ebola in the affected countries is to isolate the victims, a task that is very ...
- Ebola Virus Vaccine Market: Key Players and Strategies for Future Growth by 2023-2027
The "Ebola Virus Vaccine Market" research report is a comprehensive study that provides valuable insights into ...
- Potential Analysis Of Ebola Drug And Vaccines Market Growth, Statistics, Industry Size, Trend, End User Analysis 2023
Potential Analysis of Ebola drug and Vaccines Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast to 2023 PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES, March 28, 2023 /einpresswire.com / -- ebola virus ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Ebola vaccine
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Ebola vaccine” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Ebola
- We never visited traditional healer, says Ebola survivor
When the Ministry of Health declared the outbreak of the Ebola Sudan Virus in Mubende District on September 20, 2022, panic, myths and misconceptions arose and led to some of the confirmed Ebola ...
- Congo-Kinshasa: Why Ebola Sex Abuse Victims May Never Find Justice
Ketsia* said she was working as a part-time cleaner for the World Health Organization during the 2018 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when a doctor invited her to his house and ...
- Ebola's exponential growth
The U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control warned recently that we could have 1.4 million cases of Ebola by January. By Gwynne Dyer - Here are two good things about the Ebola virus. It is ...
- Marburg outbreak could match the 2014 Ebola epidemic, researchers warn
While a full-blown pandemic is unlikely, scientists say a similar scenario to West Africa’s notorious outbreak is feasible ...
- Symptoms of Ebola
Symptoms of Ebola virus disease (EVD) start presenting anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure to the Ebola virus. Signs include the typical symptoms of a viral illness, such as fever, aches and ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Ebola
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Ebola” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]