In a new study conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University, an experimental Zika virus vaccine has shown promise in mice with the potential of treating human patients infected with the disease.
“In this study, the vaccine was potent, safe and highly effective, at least in the short term. There’s a long way to go, but we think this is a promising candidate for a human vaccine,” Jianrong Li, Ohio State professor of veterinary biosciences who led the study and developed the vaccine platform, said.
Zika is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and their fetuses. Birth defects, miscarriage, and stillbirth are all made possible by the mosquito-spread virus. Currently, no vaccine exists beyond clinical trials.
The researchers have targeted Zika by expressing two or three Zika proteins in their drug. To do this, they inserted these proteins into the vesicular stomatitis virus, which is a foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. By weakening it, scientists make it harmless to humans and mice and have shown its efficacy as a delivery vehicle in other vaccines. By expressing Zika proteins in mice cells, their immune system is triggered, responds, and builds up a natural defense against Zika.
“We are very excited to find that VSV-based Zika vaccine is highly promising in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice,” Anzhong Li, first author of the study and a graduate student Li’s lab, said.
The success of the study, which was published in Nature Communications, has moved the team to expand similar research to other viruses, like Dengue fever.