Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed an innovative inhalable, single-dose vaccine using a “nano-micro composite” structure. This vaccine effectively blocks respiratory infections and is suitable for areas with limited refrigeration, representing a major advancement in vaccine technology.
Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new “nano-micro composite” delivery concept for vaccines. Based on this idea, they have developed a single-dose, dry-powder, inhalable vaccine platform using nano-micro composite multilevel structures, which has been successfully prepared in the laboratory, and the vaccine has been shown to be effective in blocking respiratory viral infection and transmission in animal models. This platform holds great promise for combating future emerging and epidemic infectious diseases.
This study was published today (December 13) in the journal Nature.
Challenges in Current Vaccine Approaches
In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in developing vaccines for infectious respiratory diseases. However, most of these vaccines are administered through intramuscular injection, which primarily induces a humoral immune response and relies on blood antibodies to neutralize the virus. Unfortunately, this approach fails to trigger a mucosal immune response and establish a robust immune barrier in the respiratory tract.
Moreover, adjuvants commonly used in current vaccines, e.g., aluminum adjuvants, are unable to induce cellular immune responses and are ineffective in combating rapid viral mutations. Additionally, the current liquid form of vaccines necessitates strict low-temperature storage conditions, and the two- or three-dose vaccination schedule also impacts the overall vaccination rate.
Cross-disciplinary Collaboration Yields New Vaccine Platform
To address these problems, interdisciplinary integration and innovative research concepts are needed to develop safer and more efficient vaccines for respiratory infections.
Taking this approach, Prof. Wei Wei and Prof. MA Guanghui, from the State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering at IPE, in cross-disciplinary collaboration with Prof. Hengliang Wang and Prof. Li Zhu, from the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, have developed a new vaccine platform to tackle these challenges.
This platform combines biodegradable microspheres with protein nanoparticles. The surface of these nanoparticles can simultaneously display multiple antigens, thus inducing a broad-spectrum immune response and expanding the range of vaccine protection. It also allows for the quick and convenient development of other respiratory virus vaccines due to the flexibility of antigen presentation.
Moreover, the platform’s unique nano-micro composite structure enables an efficient immune response in the lungs by facilitating high-performance delivery. Once the antigen-nanoparticles are released, they can be efficiently taken up by antigen-presenting cells.
Additionally, this dry powder vaccine significantly reduces storage and transportation costs, making it suitable for areas with limited refrigeration facilities, thus improving immunization rates.
Long-Lasting Immunity and Potential for Clinical Translation
Furthermore, the sustained release of antigens in the vaccine induces long-lasting humoral, cellular, and mucosal immunity with just a single inhalation. In later cooperation with Prof. HE Zhanlong of the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the researchers developed a model of airborne protection, close contact protection, and airborne transmission blocking, which described the benefits of inhaled vaccine for preventing the virus infection and transmission.
“The components of this nano-micro system used natural proteins and approved polymer materials, and the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine have been systematically studied in non-human primates, indicating its great potential for clinical translation,” said Prof. Wei Wei.
Reference: “Inhaled SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for single-dose dry powder aerosol immunization” by Tong Ye, Zhouguang Jiao, Xin Li, Zhanlong He, Yanyan Li, Fengmei Yang, Xin Zhao, Youchun Wang, Weijin Huang, Meng Qin, Yingmei Feng, Yefeng Qiu, Wenhui Yang, Lingfei Hu, Yaling Hu, Yu Zhai, Erqiang Wang, Di Yu, Shuang Wang, Hua Yue, Yishu Wang, Hengliang Wang, Li Zhu, Guanghui Ma and Wei Wei, 13 December 2023, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06809-8
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1 Comment
“This platform holds great promise for combating future emerging and epidemic infectious diseases”. . .
Oh, yeah. They said that about the COVID pseudo-vaccines, laced with potentially toxic nano particles.
This little understood technology is being indescriminately used in all kinds of medical and other commercial products, such as cosmetics, and apparently is being absorbed into the very air we breathe.
There should be a moritorium on the use of nano materiaals until the technology can be definitively shown to be harmless to us humans and all other organisms on the planet.