A team of Scientists in Cairns (Australia) and Cardiff (Wales) have developed the world’s first synthetic, thermostable, the non-biologic vaccine that can be taken orally.The team showed that the synthetic vaccine was hyper-stable in both stomach acid and human blood, meaning it could be taken orally.This will be a revolutionary step towards creating new vaccine treatments in pill form.The most interesting aspect of this vaccine is that it does not require refrigeration , thereby obviating process of cold chain required for storage and transport of many current vaccines.This will not only be a matter of convenience but will also cut expenditure incurred for safe delivery of most of the present day vaccines.The findings of the study conducted by the team led by Associate Professor John Miles from James Cook University and Cardiff University's Professor Andrew Sewell has been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The new fully synthetic flu vaccine protected mice from potentially lethal doses of swine flu and also worked on human cells when tested in the laboratory.According to investigators this prototype synthetic vaccine would not require refrigeration and could have the long shelf life of few years.
In order to develop the synthetic vaccine, the research team used D-amino acids. "These are mirror images of the L-amino acids that are the building blocks of all proteins," Associate Professor Miles said. "While L-amino acids are common in nature, D-amino acids are rare. We were attracted to them because they're very stable, meaning these compounds are harder to break down."
After trialing D-Amino acids in various combinations, the researchers selected a version that successfully provoked the immune system's T cells to launch a defensive attack, protecting the mice when they were later given swine flu.
"We were very surprised at how flexible the immune system is in recognizing dangerous targets," Associate Professor Miles said. "It can't actually tell the difference between our antigen and a real-world fragment of swine flu. This suggests you can build vaccines out of anything you want as long as they 'look' like the real thing in three dimensions."
While we might be a long way from taking our vaccines orally and at room-temperature, Associate Professor Miles says this proof-of-concept study shows exciting promise.
According to researchers these new concepts and advances will help make a significant contribution to health worldwide.The experts, however, feel that further research is needed to translate the findings into a real-world vaccine and make an interpretation of the discoveries into true antibodies.
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