Researchers have developed a 'new coronavirus vaccine' that can be pasted at the fingertip size, the world's first new corona vaccine published in a peer-reviewed medical journal



Research teams

at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) have reported in a peer-reviewed medical journal EBioMedicine that they have developed a vaccine for a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes pandemics worldwide. Announced. Although a new coronavirus vaccine has been developed and some clinical trials have begun, this is the world's first vaccine to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Microneedle array delivered recombinant coronavirus vaccines: Immunogenicity and rapid translational development-PIIS2352-3964 (20) 30118-3.pdf
(PDF file) https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/ebiom/PIIS2352-3964(20)30118-3.pdf

COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise in first peer-reviewed research
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-covid-vaccine-candidate-peer-reviewed.html

Coronavirus vaccine: This new velcro-like patch could be a major step toward one
https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/coronavirus-vaccine-pitt



What the research team focused on in vaccine development was a protein called “spike protein” that protruded on the surface of the new coronavirus. Spike proteins play an important role in virus entry into cells, and similar proteins exist in

SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus which are said to be closely related to new type coronavirus .

The new coronavirus spike protein binds to the ACE2 receptor present on cells of the human respiratory and digestive systems, invades the human body, and proliferates. The research team has developed a vaccine called ' Pittsburgh Coronavirus Vaccine (PittCoVacc) ' that creates a protein that mimics this spike protein in the laboratory and sends it to the human body as a vaccine to produce antibodies. Since the method does not use the actual novel coronavirus, humans who have been vaccinated have a lower risk of developing the novel coronavirus infection, said Andrea Gambotto, associate senior author of the paper.

The vaccine “mRNA-1273”, for which clinical trials have already started, is a vaccine that uses artificially generated messenger RNA (mRNA) and has a different basic mechanism from PittCoVacc. Vaccines using mRNA encourage spiking proteins to be made in the human body, but the team believes that PittCoVacc works faster because it sends proteins directly.

The world's first human clinical trial of the new coronavirus vaccine starts-gigazine



The research team uses a “microneedle array” approach to drug delivery in order to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine and make antibodies faster. In this method, as many as 400 'micro-sized needles made of artificial protein and sugar mimicking spike protein' are arranged on a finger-sized patch and attached to the skin like a band-aid. Because the skin is a site where the immune response is strong, the needle containing the protein to be the vaccine can be pierced into the skin and released, so that the vaccine can be effectively delivered into the body.

` ` We have developed a microneedle array approach as a more efficient and reproducible high-tech version for many patients, based on smallpox vaccination, '' said Louis Falo , UPMC's director of dermatology. I did. ' The needle used in this approach is small enough that patients do not feel pain, says Falo.

Also, unlike many other vaccines, PittCoVacc can be stored at room temperature, and can be used for large-scale production required during a pandemic. The protein used for the vaccine can be mass-produced at a `` cell factory '' using cultured cells, and micro-sized needles can be produced by casting a mixture of protein and sugar into a mold using a centrifuge. . 'For many vaccines, there is no need to work on scalability, but scalability is the first requirement when trying to develop a vaccine for a pandemic quickly,' said Gambotto.



When the research team actually tested PittCoVacc in mice, it was said that antibodies rapidly increased in mice within 2 weeks after vaccination. Mice have not been tracked for a long time because they were just developed, but mice vaccinated with the MERS coronavirus that have been producing enough antibodies for one year, and the amount of antibodies The research team claims that the trend has followed the same trend.

The research team is applying for approval for a clinical trial of PittCoVacc with the

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and expects to begin its first clinical trial in the coming months. 'The vaccine was developed quickly because scientists with different areas of expertise are working together on a common goal,' Falo said.



in Science, Posted by log1h_ik