A vaccine from a dummy virus
Scientists have created an "empty" virus that will play the role of a vaccine against some infectious diseases
DailyTechInfo based on Popular Science: Scientists Build Hollow Virus For Cheaper VaccinesA group of researchers from the British National Institute of Biological Standards and Control (U.K. National Institute for Biological Standards and Control) has created an artificial analogue of the outer shell of the FMD virus.
But inside this shell, where the genetic material of the virus itself is located, it is empty.
Such synthetic virus-like particles can be used as a vaccine against viral infectious diseases. Their production will be simpler and cheaper than the production of conventional vaccines, because the company that produces them will not require strict biological safety measures that are taken when working with live viral material.
In addition, the viral envelope is designed in such a way that such "empty" viruses can stay intact outside the refrigerator for much longer than conventional vaccines, which greatly simplifies their delivery to anywhere in the world.
The "empty" virus works as a vaccine due to the fact that its shell stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against the virus of the appropriate type. Due to the fact that there is no genetic material inside the synthetic virus, which is a "distribution instruction", this virus is not capable of reproduction, transition to an active state and provoking disease.
In the near future, scientists plan to create something similar for the polio virus, having received a completely safe vaccine against this disease. Modern polio vaccines are made from dead or weakened live viruses. And the use of weakened viruses has a small risk that the disease can be revived in its original form and affect the human body, causing paralysis. That is why such vaccines are banned in many developed countries, despite the fact that their use does not require the participation of highly qualified medical personnel who have undergone special training.
Scientists still have a lot of work to do and conduct an extensive series of tests on various animal species before the artificial envelope of the virus can be used as a vaccine. So far, the artificial "empty" foot-and-mouth disease virus has been tested as a vaccine on eight experimental animals, five of which subsequently demonstrated immunity to infection.
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