Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Study: DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease

By R&D Editors | May 24, 2012

Army
scientists and industry collaborators have successfully protected
laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach
that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs. The work appears in a recent
edition of the online scientific journal PLoS ONE, published by the Public Library of Science.

   

According
to first author Jay W. Hooper of the U.S. Army Medical Research
Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), this is the first time that
the DNA vaccine/duck egg system has been shown to produce an antiviral
product capable of protecting against hantavirus disease.

   

Hantavirus
causes a condition known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which
has a case fatality rate of 35-40%. Currently there are no vaccines,
prophylactics, or therapeutics to prevent or treat this highly
pathogenic disease.

   

In
this study, the research team used a hamster model of Andes virus,
which is the predominant cause of HPS in South America and the only
hantavirus known to be transmitted person-to-person. Infection of Syrian
hamsters with Andes virus, as demonstrated in earlier studies at
USAMRIID, results in a disease that closely mimics human HPS in
incubation time, symptoms of respiratory distress, and disease
pathology. This makes it an ideal system for evaluating the feasibility
of postexposure protection strategies.

   

Collaborating
with Aldevron of Fargo, N.D. and the Universidad del Desarrollo in
Santiago, Chile, Hooper and his team first evaluated a natural product,
human polyclonal antibody, which was obtained as fresh frozen plasma
(FFP) from a patient who survived HPS. Their results indicate that FFP
shows promise as a post-exposure preventive treatment for HPS.

   

The
team then vaccinated ducks with a DNA vaccine against Andes virus. This
vaccine, initially developed and tested at USAMRIID, uses genetic
material, or DNA, that encodes a specific hantavirus gene to elicit an
immune response in the recipient.

   

Next,
they purified an antibody called IgY from the yolks of the duck eggs.
This purified IgY, as well as a similar version produced in duck eggs,
was capable of neutralizing Andes virus when tested in cell culture.
More importantly, it also protected Syrian hamsters from lethal HPS—even
when administered as a single injection several days after the hamsters
had been exposed to a lethal dose of virus.

   

The
work demonstrates the feasibility of using DNA vaccine technology,
coupled with the duck/egg system, to manufacture a product that could
supplement or replace FFP. Furthermore, the new approach can be scaled
as needed and eliminates the necessity of using blood products from HPS
survivors, which may be in limited supply.

   

According
to Hooper, another advantage of this technique is that duck IgY
naturally loses a part of the antibody that has been associated with
“serum sickness” when animal antibodies have been used in humans, making
the product potentially less reactogenic.

   

“This
antiviral product, if fully developed and manufactured, has the
potential to be used in future outbreak situations,” Hooper said. “It
also could be used to treat health care workers and others who have
close contact with HPS patients.”

   

In
addition, the authors suggest, the flexibility of the DNA vaccine/duck
egg system could be applied to the production of antibodies against
other infectious agents and toxins.

DNA Vaccine-Generated Duck Polyclonal Antibodies as a Postexposure Prophylactic to Prevent Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

Source: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE