New research pipeline feeds the development of universal vaccines

Most vaccines are designed to provide immunity against a single pathogen. Furthermore, Vaccines for chickenpox (caused by the chicken-zona virus) were only developed to fight against this disease, for example.

But in the wake of the COVVI-19 pandemic. Furthermore, researchers from the immune system around the world work beyond traditional single pathogen vaccines.

Our pipeline defies this approach. Similarly, “”

Alba Grifoni, Ph.D.. Furthermore, Deputy Professor of Research at the Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)

As they report CellGrifoni and his colleagues have developed a research pipeline to fuel the development of “universal vaccines”. However, These vaccines would address large viral families and mutated viral variants. Furthermore, In case of success. Furthermore, this approach could lead to vaccines with the power to neutralize emerging SARS-2 variants and new research pipeline feeds development many other viruses with pandemic potential.

Universal vaccine science

Many viruses belong to large viral families and share a family resemblance. Therefore, The virus that causes COVID-19, called SARS-COV-2, is a type of coronavirus (VOC is short for coronavirus). Similarly, This means that the SARS-COV-2 is closely linked to common cold coronaviruses. Therefore, as well as to the Coronavirus Mers (Mers-COV) and the Sars Coronavirus (Sars-Cov).

All these coronaviruses share certain sequences of “preserved” protein which remained the same as the viruses have evolved. Furthermore, These closely related viruses share many of the same characteristics and are recognized by some of the same T cells. T cells are white blood cells that can recognize. kill cells infected with the virus to prevent an infection from spreading.

In previous studies. LJI researchers have discovered that certain crossed T cells can detect these preserved sites, called epitopes, to target both Sars-Cov-2 and new research pipeline feeds development common cold coronaviruses.

The Grifoni laboratory strives to map these regions of preserved epitope. This work is essential to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine. Once scientists know where T cells should hit. they can develop vaccines that offer effective immunity from T lymphocytes against many types of coronavirus, including variants that have not even emerged.

“It is important to induce a neutralizing response on antibodies,” explains Grifoni. “But we have shown that T cells are much more stable in the context of viral variants. and it is because T cells look at all the proteins of the virus. »»

Use of data science to fight COVID-19

Researchers are aware of the preserved epitopes of C cells of the coronavirus. including certain epitopes on the “tip” protein of the coronavirus. But it is more difficult to study which of these epitopes arouses the strongest response of T lymphocytes. and the researchers new research pipeline feeds development knew that there were other promising epitopes hidden in experimental data.

To find these regions of preserved epitopes. Grifoni and his team extracted and analyzed data from the Immune Epitope database (IEDB), a public resource designed and led by LJI scientists. The IEDB has provided data on more than 200 coronavirus epitopes discovered by scientists from laboratories around the world.

Grifoni has worked in close collaboration with J. Craig Ventier Institute (JCVI) virologists to compare the similarities between epitopes of different types of coronavirus. Researchers used a combination of bioinformatics tools, including artificial intelligence approaches (AI), to search for hidden similarities between coronavirus.

Once Grifoni. his colleagues have had their results, they compared the way T cells recognized different epitopes of coronavirus, including epitopes on the viral protein “Spike” and those outside the advanced protein. The discovery of this activity of T lymphocytes gives researchers an important guide on how new research pipeline feeds development to target coronavirus via. a response from cross lymphocytes.

“The idea is that if a new coronavirus emerges. we could not protect ourselves from infection, but we could be able to protect ourselves from hospitalization,” explains Grifoni.

Grifoni thinks of the situation as a whole. She says that this study of the coronavirus shows the accuracy and usefulness of a new research pipeline. Researchers could use this same process to identify epitopes of T lymphocytes preserved through different respiratory viruses (such as paramyxovirus. including measles and nipah virus or enteroviruses, including A71 and D68) and even viral species causing hemorrhagic fevers (such as Lassa virus and Junn virus).

“Our laboratory is collaborating with research groups that are interested in many different viral families,” explains Grifoni. “We have to fill the knowledge gaps. »»

Additional authors of the study. Additionally, “the highly preserved betacoronavirus sequences are widely recognized by human T new research pipeline feeds development cells”, include the first Tertuliano Alves Pereira Neto, Christian Zmaseck, Liliana Avalos, John Sidney, Raphael Trevizani, Elizabeth Phillips, Simon Mallal, April, April Gene S. Tan, Richard H. Scheinmann and Alesandro Set.