Norovirus candidate vaccine induces broad antibody responses in trial participants
2015-03-24
(Press-News.org) A multivalent candidate vaccine elicits broad antibody responses to a range of norovirus strains, including strains not included in the vaccine or previously encountered by participants, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The results of the study, led by Lisa Lindesmith and Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, indicate that a vaccine to norovirus may be available in the future.
Worldwide, noroviruses cause one in five cases of viral gastroenteritis. An estimated annual 300 million cases of norovirus infection contribute to roughly 260,000 deaths, mostly in low-income countries. Over time, noroviruses evade natural immunity by antigenic drift, which allows them to escape from antibodies produced in response to earlier infections.
Recent efforts to develop a norovirus vaccine have focused on virus-like particles (VLPs), which are constructed from molecules of the virus's capsid (outer shell). In a phase I clinical trial, one multivalent VLP vaccine elicited antibody generation, but did not confer immunity to the tested strain of virus. In the current study, Lindesmith and colleagues characterized serum specimens from ten multivalent VLP vaccine clinical trial participants for antibodies to vaccine VLPs and also to VLPs representing viruses that were not contained in the vaccine.
The researchers found that VLP vaccine can rapidly elicit antibody responses to a broad range of vaccine and non-vaccine VLPs, including to two VLPs representing human noroviruses that they could not have previously encountered. Overall, antibodies to norovirus strains to which participants had previously been exposed dominated the immune response.
These findings provide evidence that, if achieved, VLP-vaccine-induced norovirus immunity may overcome the ability of noroviruses to evade immunity by antigenic drift. These results must be interpreted cautiously. The study is small, and the assays used may not replicate how the immune system of a vaccine recipient will respond to true norovirus infection. Additionally, the study participants were all adults aged 18 to 49 years, while a vaccine is most needed for young children (who account for the majority of severe infections) and the elderly (who are most likely to die from infection). Next steps include further development of VLP-based vaccines and additional clinical trials. The authors state: "These data reveal new information about complex norovirus immune responses to both natural exposure and to vaccination, and support the potential feasibility of an efficacious multivalent norovirus VLP vaccine for future use in human populations."
INFORMATION:
Research Article
Funding: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Allergy and Infectious Diseases R01 AI056351, R56 A15-0756, and U19 AI109761 CETR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: MTF, CWM, KD, and JS do not have any competing interests. LCL and RSB have received royalties from a licensing agreement with Ligocyte (now Takeda). FB is an employee of Takeda Pharmaceuticals International. CR, RRG, RFB, and PMM are employees of Takeda Vaccines. RRG has stock in Takeda Vaccines, Inc. CR holds stock or options in Takeda Pharmaceuticals. RFB holds patents on Takeda's norovirus vaccine drug substance, owns Takeda stock, is PI of a research contract from the Department of Defense for norovirus vaccine development, is a board member of the Montana BioScience Alliance, and is a registered lobbyist. JF is an employee of EMMES and is contracted through Takeda Vaccines.
Citation: Lindesmith LC, Ferris MT, Mullan CW, Ferreira J, Debbink K, Swanstrom J, et al. (2015) Broad Blockade Antibody Responses in Human Volunteers after Immunization with a Multivalent Norovirus VLP Candidate Vaccine: Immunological Analyses from a Phase I Clinical Trial. PLoS Med 12 (3): e1001807. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001807
Author Affiliations:
University of North Carolina, UNITED STATES
The EMMES Corporation, UNITED STATES
Takeda Vaccines, UNITED STATES
Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, SWITZERLAND
Contact:
Lisa Lindesmith and Ralph Baric
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
+1 (919) 966 4689
lisal@unc.edu
rbaric@email.unc.edu
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-03-24
CAMBRIDGE, Mass--Researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a new kind of solar cell that combines two different layers of sunlight-absorbing material in order to harvest a broader range of the sun's energy. The development could lead to photovoltaic cells that are more efficient than those currently used in solar-power installations, the researchers say.
The new cell uses a layer of silicon -- which forms the basis for most of today's solar panels -- but adds a semi-transparent layer of a material called perovskite, which can absorb higher-energy particles ...
2015-03-24
After decades of debate there remains no generally accepted definition of a "natural" food product. Regulatory agencies have refused to settle the issue but may be under new pressure from consumer lawsuits, according to a new study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.
"Consumers don't agree on a definition either, yet clearly believe that 'natural' is important," writes author Ross D. Petty (Babson College). "In 2009, 30% of newly launched foods claimed to be natural but by 2013 this dropped to 22%, possibly due to an increase in the number of consumer lawsuits. ...
2015-03-24
New research from NYU Langone orthopaedic surgeons finds patients with diabetes who fracture their ankle incur significantly more inpatient health care costs compared to patients who do not have diabetes.
The research, led by Kenneth A. Egol, MD, a professor and vice chair of education in the Department of Orthoapedic Surgery at NYU Langone, showed patients with diabetes who undergo ankle fracture surgery have significantly longer lengths of stay and total hospital charges compared to non-diabetics, with worse trends seen among patients with complicated disease.
NYU ...
2015-03-24
Philadelphia, PA, March 24, 2015 - In a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill compared the relative risks of laparoscopic hysterectomy (with morcellation) with abdominal surgery for hysterectomy in premenopausal women undergoing surgery for presumed uterine fibroids. Examining short- and long-term complications, quality of life, and overall mortality, they found that abdominal surgery carries a higher risk of complications, decreased quality of life, and death.
Hysterectomy ...
2015-03-24
Adolescent patients who need scoliosis surgery may benefit most from going to a hospital that performs a high volume of the procedures, according to new research from NYU Langone spine surgeons presented March 24 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2015 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.
Researchers looked at a New York State database of hospital discharges and identified 3,928 surgeries for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, and found reoperation rates were significantly lower among surgeons who perform a high volume of the procedures.
Specifically, 14.1 percent ...
2015-03-24
WHAT:
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, have determined that certain red blood cell traits in children can increase or decrease their risk for malaria. The findings could help identify future targets for new malaria drugs and vaccines.
From 2008 to 2011, NIAID scientists and their collaborators followed 1,543 children ranging from 6 months to 17 years old in Mali, a West African country with a high incidence of childhood malaria. Throughout the study period, the children experienced a ...
2015-03-24
Despite catastrophic earthquakes, the most vulnerable residents do not take steps to prepare themselves against future disaster, according to a new study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The authors provide an example from southern Spain.
"Spain's persistent economic crisis and unemployment rate suggest that many residents of southern Spain belong to this vulnerable segment," write authors Shintaro Okazaki (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Amadeo Benavent-Climent (University of Madrid), Angeles Navarro (Universidad de Murcia), and Jörg Henseler (University ...
2015-03-24
Online word-of-mouth communications are having a significant effect on product sales, yet research to date has failed to understand why that effect fluctuates, according to a new study in the Journal of Marketing.
"Previous investigation into online communications had focused on product reviews, but it was clear that far more information was needed," write authors Ya You (College of Charleston), Gautham G. Vadakkepatt (George Mason University), and Amit M. Joshi (University of Central Florida). "The current study hypothesized that additional platforms such as blogs, ...
2015-03-24
Consumers are tuning out TV commercials, making advertisers run louder, higher-energy ads to force their attention. This may be backfiring critically when consumers are watching sad or relaxing shows, according to a new study in the Journal of Marketing.
"This research stands to fundamentally change the ways advertisers approach the use of commercials," write authors Nancy M. Puccinelli (Oxford University), Keith Wilcox (Columbia University), and Dhruv Grewal (Babson College). "Firms will realize substantially greater success if they use moderately energetic commercials ...
2015-03-24
TORONTO, March 24, 2015 -- Diabetes is associated with more advanced stage breast cancer, according to a new study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Women's College Hospital.
The findings, published today in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, confirm a strong link between diabetes and later stage breast cancer at diagnosis for Canadian women.
"Our findings suggest that women with diabetes may be predisposed to more advanced stage breast cancer, which may be a contributor to their higher cancer mortality," said Dr. Lorraine ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Norovirus candidate vaccine induces broad antibody responses in trial participants
