The Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which has conducted extensive research on bat coronaviruses, has faced controversy and scrutiny from various countries, including the US, regarding allegations of a lab leak that contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, scientists at the institute have developed a new nanovaccine that shows promise in providing universal protection against all major COVID-19 variants and potential future coronavirus mutations. South China Morning Post Report.
According to the research team, existing vaccines have played an important role in preventing the spread of Sars-CoV-2 and reducing mortality. However, they believe that existing vaccines lack universal protection against all variants of the virus. Therefore, they developed a universal COVID-19 vaccine by combining coronavirus epitopes (specific parts of antigens that trigger an immune response) with the blood protein ferritin. This combination creates an intranasal nanoparticle vaccine that is promising in protecting against multiple variants of Sars-CoV-2, including Delta, Omicron, and WIV04.
The WIV04 strain refers to the initial version of Sars-CoV-2 that was first detected in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the Covid-19 pandemic first emerged.
“The current and future pandemics caused by SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations underscore the need for effective vaccines that provide broad-spectrum protection,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in June in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Nano.
“The nanovaccine constructed by us, which targets conserved epitopes of already existing neutralising antibodies, may serve as a promising candidate for a universal Sars-CoV-2 vaccine,” the paper said.
While the global risk level of COVID-19 has significantly decreased, researchers warn that ongoing mutations of the virus will continue to generate new variants, some of which may be more transmissible and potentially trigger future outbreaks or even another global pandemic.
That’s why the team believes the nanovaccine provides an “excellent vaccine platform” and has a long-term immune response.
The nanovaccine was first tested on mice, with promising results. Mice that received the nanovaccine, followed by two booster shots within 42 days, showed significantly higher levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies than control groups. When the vaccinated mice were exposed to different coronavirus variants, including Omicron and Delta, they displayed better resistance to virus-induced lung symptoms, showing the protective efficacy of the vaccine against different strains.
“The nanoparticle vaccine has potential protective capability as a broad-spectrum vaccine against various (coronaviruses),” the team wrote.
