New needle-free nasal vaccine shows promise for COVID-19

New research shows that a needle-free mucosal bacteriophage (phage) T4-based COVID-19 vaccine is effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings were published in mBio, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration authorized mRNA- and adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. These vaccines are intramuscularly injected in 2 or more doses and are effective in preventing COVID-19, but they do not induce efficient mucosal immunity or prevent viral transmission.

In the new study, senior study authors Venigalla B. Rao, Ph.D., from the Bacteriophage Medical Research Center, Department of Biology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and Ashok K. Chopra, Ph.D., CSc, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, and their colleagues report the first non-infectious, bacteriophage T4-based, multicomponent, needle and adjuvant-free mucosal vaccine. Both of the senior authors are elected fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology.

In experiments conducted in mice, intranasal administration of 2 doses of the phage T4-COVID-19 vaccine 21-days apart induced robust mucosal immunity, in addition to strong systemic humoral and cellular immune responses. The intranasal vaccine induced broad virus neutralization antibody titers against multiple variants and triggered Th1-biased cytokine responses, strong CD4+ and CD8+ T cell immunity, and high secretory IgA titers in sera and bronchoalveolar lavage of vaccinated mice. All these responses were much stronger in intranasally vaccinated mice than that induced by the injected vaccine. Furthermore, the nasal vaccine provided complete protection and sterilizing immunity against the mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 MA10 strain, the ancestral WA-1/2020 strain, and the most lethal Delta variant in mouse models.

Additionally, the T4-COVID-19 vaccine elicited broad virus-neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants in sera and bronchoalveolar lavage, did not affect the gut microbiota, exhibited minimal lung lesions in vaccinated and challenged mice and is stable at ambient temperature.

"This intranasally administered vaccine generates superior mucosal immunity in mice in addition to inducing robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, and provides complete protection and sterilizing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The vaccine is stable, adjuvant-free and cost-effectively manufactured and distributed, making it a strategically important next-generation COVID-19 vaccine for ending this pandemic," said Drs. Rao and Chopra. "This modular, needle-free, phage T4 mucosal vaccine delivery platform is an excellent candidate to design efficacious mucosal vaccines against other respiratory infections and for emergency preparedness against emerging epidemic and pandemic pathogens."

Zhu Jingen, Jain Swati, Sha Jian, Batra Himanshu, Ananthaswamy Neeti, Kilgore Paul B, Hendrix Emily K, Hosakote Yashoda M, Wu Xiaorong, Olano Juan P, Kayode Adeyemi, Galindo Cristi L, Banga Simran, Drelich Aleksandra, Tat Vivian, Tseng Chien-Te K, Chopra Ashok K, Rao Venigalla B, Hatfull Graham F.
A Bacteriophage-Based, Highly Efficacious, Needle- and Adjuvant-Free, Mucosal COVID-19 Vaccine.
mBio, 2022. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01822-22

Most Popular Now

Pfizer receives positive FDA Advisory Committee vo…

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted that avail...

Engineered bacteria find tumors, then alert the au…

Combining discoveries in cancer immunology with sophisticated genetic engineering, Columbia University researchers have created a sort of "bacterial suicide squad" that ...

First nasal monoclonal antibody treatment for COVI…

A pilot trial by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, tested the nasal administration of the ...

US FDA Advisory Committee votes to support effecti…

GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted that the avail...

"Semantic similarity" leads to novel dru…

The words that researchers use to describe their results can be harnessed to discover potential new treatments for Parkinson's disease, according to a new study published...

Tumour cells' response to chemotherapy is driven b…

Cancer cells have an innate randomness in their ability to respond to chemotherapy, which is another tool in their arsenal of resisting treatment, new research led by the...

Pfizer invests $43 billion to battle cancer

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Seagen, a...

Pfizer's ZAVZPRET™ (zavegepant) migraine nasal spr…

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ZAVZPRET™ (zavegepant), the first and only calcitonin gene-related peptid...

Gene and cell therapies to combat pancreatic cance…

Pancreatic cancer is an incurable form of cancer, and gene therapies are currently in clinical testing to treat this deadly disease. A comprehensive review of the gene an...

Scientists reveal a potential new approach to trea…

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have uncovered a potential new approach against liver cancer that could lead ...

Normalizing tumor blood vessels may improve immuno…

A type of immune therapy called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has revolutionized the treatment of multiple types of blood cancers but has shown limited e...

Digital twin opens way to effective treatment of i…

Inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis have complex disease mechanisms that can differ from patient to patient with the same diagnosis. This means that currently...