More than 170 million people worldwide are chronic
carriers of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), but there is no therapeutic vaccine
currently available for treating this infection. Persistent HCV infection
results in chronic active hepatitis which may lead to progressive liver disease.
Current treatment strategies are expensive, have substantial side effects, and
are effective in only approximately 50% of patients. Therapeutic vaccines that
enhance host immune responses to eliminate chronic HCV infection would be a
major advancement in the treatment of this disease.
Researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State
University have developed a new strategy to produce vaccines against viruses by
targeting glycoproteins present on the virus surface. By combining HCV
glycoproteins, E1 and E2, with portions of human antibodies (IgG), they produced
a novel fusion protein with heterodimeric structure. In addition, they have
successfully expressed protein components in plants—a promising medium for high
production yields.
The fusion protein system ensures correct presentation of
the HCV glycoproteins in their folded states, which guarantees generation of a
robust immune response.
Potential Applications
- Strategy to create vaccines against many viruses
- Synthetic vaccine for treatment against Hepatitis C Virus
Benefits and Advantages
- Targets specific functional proteins on viruses
- High yields of protein components with plant based
expression
- Specific immunogenicity
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For more information about the inventor(s) and their
research, please see
Dr.
Mason's directory webpage
Dr.
Mason's departmental webpage
