Uncrowned
MSU offers a breakthrough version of the COVID-19 vaccine
A prototype can be created in three months
Anna Urmantseva, Izvestia
In Russia, a prototype of a cheap COVID-19 vaccine can be created in three months," the Department of Virology at Moscow State University told Izvestia. Scientists have managed to obtain special spherical particles from a plant virus that is not contagious to humans, which is so pasted over with individual proteins from SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19 disease) that it becomes like two drops of water similar to the pathogen itself. The production process of the drug is very simple. In addition, it can be made universal by including protection against other strains there.
Ordinary "magic"
More than 185 thousand people have already been infected with COVID-19 disease. All the leading laboratories in the world are working on variants of drugs and vaccines against the new coronavirus. Among them are scientists of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, who made their own unique proposal. At the Department of Virology, under the leadership of Academician Joseph Atabekov and the head of the department Olga Karpova, a technology has been developed to create spherical particles that can serve as a carrier for antigens of any viruses, in particular for the currently raging SARS-CoV-2.
– We get perfectly shaped spherical particles of any size from the tobacco mosaic virus, – Olga Karpova, head of the Department of Virology of the MSU Biofac, told Izvestia. – This is a plant virus, which, as you know, definitely cannot be contagious to humans. After processing, the "sticks" of this virus curl up into perfect balls with a surface on which any proteins can be "glued".
The beginning of scientific work with the tobacco mosaic virus dates back to 2010. Now, scientists have taken out their blank and realized that it is ideally suited for the COVID-19 vaccine.
– The "magic" lies in the fact that our spherical particles, on the surface of which we placed the "crown of the virus" (the surface spike protein S, which is visible on the virion), become absolutely similar to the pathogen itself, – said Olga Karpova. – And these particles will be perceived by the human body in the same way, but at the same time they will carry protection from infection, not disease.
Perfect particles
According to scientists, the spherical particles created by them are not only absolutely safe for humans, but also immunogenic, that is, they cause a strong response in the body.
In other cases, special adjuvant substances (a compound or complex of substances used to enhance the immune response when administered simultaneously with an immunogen) must be added to vaccines. – "Izvestia"). This is done because our body does not respond to small proteins. Even if some kind of antigen is injected with the vaccine, then the body needs to be spurred so that the right amount of antibodies appear in it, which could become protection.
Unlike aluminum, which also often serves as an adjuvant for vaccines, the particles created at MSU are biodegradable. After they "work", that is, antibodies will be produced on the surface proteins of SARS-CoV-2, the particles will be quietly removed from the body.
Also, the balls are an excellent depot for attached proteins. They are not immediately removed from the surface, but gradually. Such an important and useful effect is associated with the particle processing method.
– Opponents told us that as soon as your balls get into the circulatory system, the attached proteins can fly off the surface, – explained Olga Karpova. – But we conducted an experiment and showed the stability of antigens on the surface of particles at high NaCl, that is, under the same conditions that we have in our blood.
In addition, the finished vaccine will not even need to be stored in the refrigerator: the particles quietly exist at room temperature. Over time, neither aggregation (sticking together) nor shape changes occur.
Universal vaccine
According to scientists, the developed method will ensure a low cost of drugs, since it does not require the use of a weakened or killed pathogen, as well as expensive culture media. The cost of obtaining such spherical particles is low, since most viruses accumulate in the infected plant in large quantities, and the process of their isolation is simple and takes two to three days. Most of the time can be spent on creating genetic constructs and obtaining recombinant antigen proteins.
– The prototype of the vaccine can be ready in three months, – said Mikhail Kirpichnikov, Dean of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with Izvestia.
However, the most important point is that proteins from other coronaviruses, in particular SARS and MERS, can be attached to the surface of spherical particles. That is, MSU scientists offer not just a variant of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is an approach that could provide protection from both past and future coronaviruses, which can manifest at any time.
However, according to Academician Mikhail Kirpichnikov, an order and sufficient funding are needed for the rapid development of a universal vaccine.
– The approach to creating vaccines against human infections based on plant viruses with viral antigen proteins attached to them is very promising, but not new, such studies have been conducted since the 1980s, - said Konstantin Krutovsky, head of the Scientific and Educational Center for Genomic Research at SFU, Professor at the University of Göttingen (Germany). – However, if there is an opportunity to accelerate the creation of effective and universal vaccines based on domestic developments, then this can solve many problems both in Russia and in the world.
Earlier, MSU successfully conducted preclinical trials of a rubella vaccine based on biogenic spherical particles (MF), which is completely safe, including for women of reproductive age and people with immunodeficiency.
The method of creating vaccine preparations based on MF is patented in the Russian Federation and abroad.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru