Injectable Hydrogel Could Someday Lead to More Effective Vaccines
Phoenix666 writes:
Injectable hydrogel could someday lead to more effective vaccines:
Vaccines have curtailed the spread of several infectious diseases, such as smallpox, polio and measles. However, vaccines against some diseases, including HIV-1, influenza and malaria, don't work very well, and one reason could be the timing of antigen and adjuvant presentation to the immune system. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science developed an injectable hydrogel that allows sustained release of vaccine components, increasing the potency, quality and duration of immune responses in mice.
To confer resistance to infectious diseases, vaccines display parts of a pathogen-known as antigens-to cells of the immune system, which develop antibodies against these molecules. If a vaccinated person later becomes infected with the same pathogen, their immune system can quickly deploy antibodies to destroy the invader. Vaccines usually contain an additional component, called an adjuvant, that helps stimulate the immune system. In natural infections, the body is typically exposed to antigens for 2-3 weeks, compared with only 1-2 days for vaccines. Eric Appel and colleagues wondered whether they could develop an injectable hydrogel that would slowly release vaccine components over a longer period of time, more similar to what the body is used to, which might boost the immune response.
A bubble of hydrogel under the skin would dissolve and release its vaccine over time.
Journal Reference:
Gillie A. Roth, Emily C. Gale, Marcela Alcantara-Hernandez, et al. Injectable Hydrogels for Sustained Codelivery of Subunit Vaccines Enhance Humoral Immunity [open], ACS Central Science (DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00732)
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