CMV vaccine
A team of researchers from Cardiff University has discovered a unique way of targeting immune cells to cytomegalovirus (CMV), or human herpesvirus type 5, against which there is no effective treatment.
Cytomegalovirus is well able to hide from the body's immune system, so antibodies and T-lymphocytes cannot recognize and attack it, as they do against other viruses.
CMV causes a chronic infection, which in healthy people usually does not manifest itself, but can cause severe diseases, especially in patients with weakened immunity, for example, in newborns and people who have undergone transplantation or are infected with HIV.
Researchers have discovered a new type of antibodies that, instead of directly killing the virus, label infected cells so that the immune system can "see" them. As soon as the immune system recognizes infected cells, it is able to destroy the virus.
The team investigated whether antibody–dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) - a special type of immune response in which the target cell is coated with antibodies and killed by immune cells – could be used as a treatment.
Using proteomics techniques to characterize molecules found on the surface of an infected cell and combining this data with immunological screening, the researchers identified targets for ADCC. They discovered a unique target, a protein that is expressed early in the CMV life cycle, and then developed human antibodies against it.
In vitro experiments, the addition of anti-CMV antibodies activated natural killer cells (NK cells) through ADCC, overcoming viral defense mechanisms, leading to the destruction of infected cells.
The group has filed a patent application for a new immunotherapy drug. Researchers will have to prove the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in clinical trials. They hope that this method can also be used to fight other infectious and even oncological diseases.
Article V.-M.Vlahava et al. Monoclonal antibodies targeting nonstructural viral antigens can activate ADCC against human cytomegalovirus published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Cardiff University: Let the immune cell see the virus: Scientists discover a unique way to target common virus.