Hong Kong researchers have developed an oral vaccine against COVID-19. It can be produced in the form of capsules and is able to elicit an immune response to the virus without side effects in both humans and mice.
Oral COVID-19 vaccine – what is known about it?
Dr. Kwong Wai Yeung, research director at DreamTec, Hong Kong, and his team developed a new way to administer SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as a potential ingredient in an oral vaccine. Development work started in mid-2021, the results were published in December in the scientific journal “Vaccines”.
The researchers emphasize that the vaccine is able to induce an immune response to the virus in both mice and humans without side effects, and the peak proteins do not enter the bloodstream.
An oral booster to increase the number of antibodies can be produced in the form of capsules containing billions of Bacillus subtilis spores. When ingested, the transgenic spores are released in the small intestine, where an immune response is triggered on the mucosa. Scientists indicated that the surface of the bacterial spore Bacillus subtilis expresses the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 peak protein and produces neutralizing antibodies.
“We have attempted to develop an oral COVID-19 vaccine to provide a drug that is safe, effective and easy to administer,” Dr. Kwong said in a post-pilot release.
As reported on the British Clinical Trials Area website, a booster dose for vaccination with Bacillus subtilis can be stored at room temperature, thus being stable for at least six months.
Professor Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska from the Department of Virology and Immunology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin told PAP that research reports confirm that Bacillus subtilis is safe and non-toxic for mammals.
– Bacillus subtilis spores are resistant to environmental factors, including conditions in the digestive system. Probiotic strains of B. subtilis participate in maintaining the microecological balance of the intestine, they can stimulate the release of secretory immunoglobulins, which helps build the immunity of the intestinal mucosa – she emphasized and added that “due to its properties in regulating humoral and cellular immunity, B. subtilis has become an ideal vaccine carrier for the protection of mucous membranes. »
The B. subtilis bacteria were selected for their ability to survive the conditions of the human digestive system by producing endospores. Given that the effectiveness of traditional vaccines declines with the advent of a new virus variant, Dr. Kwong said that “our current vaccine was developed in a few months, so we can repeat it in the future with other SARS-CoV-2 variants that may appear, such as Omikron ».
“We plan to work with industry partners to conduct preclinical studies to evaluate human safety,” said Dr. Kwong.
According to Szuster-Ciesielska, the essence of the conducted research was such modification of the bacterial spores that they expressed a SARS-CoV-2 spike fragment on their surface. – This is the so-called receptor binding domain responsible for the direct recognition of the human respiratory cell receptor. I see a weakness here, because using only a spike fragment reduces the range of antibodies produced compared to immunization with whole spike protein, as is the case with already approved vaccines – she said and added that “in the event of a mutation in this region, the oral vaccine it will be much less effective ».
– Nevertheless, studies on mice and pilot studies with humans have shown that the bacterial spores prepared in this way are safe and cause the formation of neutralizing antibodies – she said.
– The presented studies are only preliminary, but have the potential to be continued in the pre-clinical phase and later in the clinical phase, as the authors of the discovery suggest – she concluded.
DreamTec is a biotechnology company founded by Dr. Kwong Wai Yeung that develops biotechnology solutions including the expression of valuable recombinant proteins, RNA and stem cell cultures.
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
Author: Agnieszka Gorczyca / PAP
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