May 1, 2024

Newly Developed mRNA Vaccine Protects Against Lyme Disease

“In their most current research study, Matthew Pine and Norbert Pardi from the University of Pennsylvania established an OspA-based mRNA vaccine that prevents the germs Borrelia burgdorferi from infecting mice.Rebecca DoughertyPine and his coworkers, including Weissman who along with Katalin Karikó was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on mRNA vaccines, developed a lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine that encodes the external surface protein A (OspA) from B. burgdorferi. In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an OspA-based recombinant protein vaccine for human use, called LYMErix, produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).6 However, some scientists became concerned that the vaccine could trigger arthritis. Presently, a new recombinant OspA protein vaccine is going through stage III clinical trials, however as of right now, there are no prophylactic vaccines approved by the FDA to avoid Lyme illness in humans.See Also “An Updated Approach to mRNA Vaccine Quality Assessment”The researchers initially checked how their OspA mRNA vaccine affected cells of the adaptive immune system by isolating immune cells from mice immunized with OspA mRNA, OspA protein, or control mRNA, and measuring them utilizing circulation cytometry. Compared to the OspA protein and control vaccines, their OspA mRNA vaccine induced a greater percentage of memory B cells in the spleen, where these cells enhance the adaptive immune reaction after antigen re-exposure. Her team recently established an intranasal, viral vector-delivered vaccine based on OspA and summarized their results in a preprint published on Research Square.7 However, she wonders if the authors outcomes would be the very same if they analyzed the immunogenicity and efficacy of the mRNA and protein vaccines at later time points.

“In their most current study, Matthew Pine and Norbert Pardi from the University of Pennsylvania established an OspA-based mRNA vaccine that avoids the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi from infecting mice.Rebecca DoughertyPine and his coworkers, including Weissman who along with Katalin Karikó was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on mRNA vaccines, established a lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine that encodes the external surface protein A (OspA) from B. burgdorferi. Presently, a brand-new recombinant OspA protein vaccine is going through stage III medical trials, however as of right now, there are no prophylactic vaccines authorized by the FDA to avoid Lyme disease in humans.See Also “An Updated Approach to mRNA Vaccine Quality Assessment”The scientists first checked how their OspA mRNA vaccine affected cells of the adaptive immune system by isolating immune cells from mice vaccinated with OspA mRNA, OspA protein, or control mRNA, and measuring them using circulation cytometry. Compared to the OspA protein and control vaccines, their OspA mRNA vaccine induced a higher proportion of memory B cells in the spleen, where these cells improve the adaptive immune response after antigen re-exposure.