Among the many teams that are working on a vaccine against all possible variants of Sars-Cov-2, or at least promising a rather broad umbrella defense capable of relieving us from the constant pursuit of mutations, there is also one from the National Center for Global Health of the Italian Higher Institute of Health. Which has just published a rather promising study in lab mice: by loading the extramuscular vesicles naturally secreted by the muscle cells of the protein N (and not Spike’s) the investigation of the animal model would demonstrate how one can be generated immune reaction able to defend them from an infection even with very high viral loads. Not only that: the experimented technique would generate an immune memory at the level of the respiratory tracttherefore quite effective also against contagion.
The novelty is that, by exploiting the N protein of the nucleocapsid of the virus, much less subject to mutations than the Spike, a potential vaccine that should be developed after the trials could guarantee us a substantial protection from any possible future variant. The target of antibodies and memory T lymphocytes would in fact be another, more stable in terms of the evolution of the virus and therefore always identifiable, regardless of the variant: protein N. Already for a year the protective shell of viruses, and not the set of hooks with which it binds to human cells, has ended up at the center of numerous investigations for therapies of every type, including against long Covid, and now for vaccines intended to cover multiple strains of coronavirus. Being enclosed in an innermost layer, therefore deeper, the N protein is less subject to changes that weaken the protection of vaccines designed starting from the superficial S.
A strategy that would surpass even Pfizer or Moderna solutions specifically dedicated to Omicron, given that – as the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has also recently reiterated – we do not know if BA.1 will be the last significant variant. Indeed, a couple of them have just been identified in Nigeria on which further investigation is needed. Meanwhile, in Italy with 10 million recovered, official data tell us that at least one in six residents is infected with the virus.
“All cells are constantly releasing tiny lipid-based vesicles called extracellular vesicles,” he explained to the media. Maurizio Federico, head of the Center and principal author of the study – and the technique developed in ISS is able to load these natural nanovesicles with Sars-Cov-2 proteins. These engineered nanovesicles are processed by the immune system in order to generate strong cellular immunity orchestrated by a family of lymphocytes identified as cd8 lymphocytes ». THE CD8 T lymphocytes (CTL) they eliminate infected cells by recognizing class I MHC molecules, tissue proteins that expose the pathogen on the cell membrane by “signaling” it to the immune system, precisely with the function of making T lymphocytes recognize them.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità will now have to continue with other studies to investigate the safety and tolerability of the vaccine under development, which are essential to be able to continue further towards the actual trials and then on human volunteers. And understand, for example, if such a product could be theideal for annual boosters which in all likelihood we will be called upon to receive from the autumn, alone or in combination with more specific vaccines.
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Source: Vanity Fair
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