Development of 'Vaccine System' to Combat COVID-19... Animal Testing Underway

Director Geum Gyo-chang (right) and Dr. Bang Eun-kyung of the KIST Brain Pharmaceutical Research Group are discussing the efficacy of a zinc coordination compound-based RNA stabilizer, a component of the virus vaccine platform.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Domestic researchers have developed a vaccine platform to combat the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This platform utilizes an immune enhancement system (vaccine platform) that has shown efficacy in defending against the MERS coronavirus, which belongs to the same family as COVID-19, drawing attention as a potential cornerstone for COVID-19 vaccine development.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced on the 13th the joint research results of Director Geum Gyochang of the Brain Medicine Research Division, Dr. Bang Eun-kyung, and Professor Nam Jae-hwan's research team from The Catholic University of Korea.

Captured MERS Coronavirus with 'Vaccine Platform'

The vaccine platform developed by the joint research team consists of the virus's RNA, a zinc metal-based RNA stabilizer, and the coronavirus spike protein.

The KIST research team developed an RNA-based stabilizer utilizing zinc metal. It is a substance composed of a single combination centered on coordination chemistry-based amphiphilic molecules. This substance activates both B cells, which induce antibody formation, and T cells, which assist them. The immune adjuvant (alum) used for over 80 years promotes B cell activity that induces antibody formation but has the drawback of suppressing T cell activity. The RNA stabilizer plays the role of stably delivering the virus's RNA within the vaccine platform.

Additionally, the Catholic University research team extracted RNA from a virus that causes paralysis and death in crickets and developed it as an immune adjuvant. They incorporated the spike protein, a protein on the surface of the coronavirus that penetrates cells, to compose the vaccine platform.

The research team tested the coronavirus elimination effect using this vaccine platform on laboratory mice. Despite exposure to a lethal dose of the virus, 100% protective efficacy was observed. Notably, it was confirmed that a single vaccination was sufficient to provide protective immunity. The team also confirmed that in macaque monkeys, a primate species, high neutralizing antibodies (a dilution factor of 1:2560 at 80% inhibition) were induced, suppressing coronavirus infection.

COVID-19 Experiments Underway on Laboratory Mice

The research team stated that the system immunizing both RNA immune adjuvants and stabilizers can be applied to various vaccines, including protein-based vaccines and inactivated vaccines.

They are currently conducting animal experiments primarily aimed at preventing COVID-19. Experiments are being conducted on laboratory mice, and once results are obtained, they plan to proceed to primate experiments.

Director Geum Gyochang said, "The protein-based vaccine using RNA, which showed effectiveness against the MERS virus, has the advantage of being rapidly applicable to vaccine development for COVID-19, which belongs to the same family."

Professor Nam Jae-hwan explained, "Recently reported nucleic acid (DNA or RNA)-based vaccines have not yet been produced as actual vaccines or applied in large-scale clinical trials. However, the vaccine developed in this study is a new vaccine platform that adds RNA as an immune adjuvant based on a protein vaccine whose safety has already been verified, so it is expected that safe vaccine development will be possible."

The results of this study were published in the latest issue of 'Angewandte Chemie,' a prestigious journal in the field of chemistry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.