Zika virus vaccine tested on pregnant mice
Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine tested the effectiveness of the Zika virus vaccine on mice that became pregnant a few weeks after vaccination. The mice partially transmitted immunity to the virus to their offspring.
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American scientists have developed a vaccine based on existing vaccines against West Nile fever, yellow fever and dengue viruses related to the Zika virus. To create the vaccine, they used parts of the protein molecule that makes up the virus envelope – this element of the viral particle is recognized as an antigen when it enters the blood and causes an immune response.
Mice were used to test the vaccine. Three weeks after the female mice were injected with the vaccine, they were paired with males who had not been vaccinated. Then the embryos of mice were infected with the Zika virus in utero. In the control group, the females were not injected with the vaccine.
As a result, 16 days after delivery, only 12% of the mice born in the control group survived. All had signs of damage to the nervous system, and they were constantly losing weight. Five out of six mice that were born to vaccinated females also had signs of lesions, although not as serious as in the control ones. Half of the vaccinated female mice survived.
Although, as scientists say, their vaccine has protected only 50% of the offspring so far, they hope to improve it by trying to use other parts of the virus envelope protein. According to the researchers, their vaccine is easy to manufacture and can be quickly put into practice. Scientists plan to improve vaccination and expect that the US Congress will allocate the funds necessary to combat the Zika virus.
Article by Kim et al. Preventive Vaccines for Zika Virus Outbreak: Preliminary Evaluation is published in the journal EBioMedicine.
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05.10.2016