Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) at Rice University in Houston, Texas, have demonstrated that a technology with favorable biological attributes known as phage display could be a viable platform for the development of new vaccines to protect against COVID-19. Findings from the proof-of-concept work were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Currently approved vaccines against COVID-19 worldwide include mRNA-based vaccines, non-replicating adenovirus vaccines, and an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine among others. While being broadly effective, these vaccine types suffer many challenges, particularly in rapid large-scale production and distribution, with the requirement for strict storage at low-temperatures (a so-called “cold chain”), use of needles for administration, and a currently unknown ability to confer long-term protection in the face of emerging viral variants.
One completely unexplored alternative is the design and development of phage display-based vaccines, which represent an inexpensive and versatile tool for large-scale immunization. Bacteriophage (phage) are viruses that naturally only infect bacteria, thus they are generally considered safe for use in humans. Phage particles are easy to genetically engineer or modify and produce in large quantities; capable of stimulating both cellular and humoral immunity; and are stable under harsh environmental conditions (pH and temperature).
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Research Paper:
