ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers found a bacterium that causes food poisoning may lead to better anti-viral vaccines, according to the American Chemical Society.
Researchers at the University of Michigan discovered a new vaccine formulation that utilizes an unusual protein derived from Listeria, the bacterium that causes food poisoning. The protein could be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for a variety of viral diseases, including HIV, smallpox and influenza.
Rather than using live or weakened viruses to boost the immune response, the Listeria formulation uses viral and the bacterial protein components to reduce the possibility of accidental viral infection. In initial animal studies, the new vaccine also appeared to boost the immune response better than a conventional vaccine, researchers said.
The U-M study appears in January's inaugural issue of Molecular Pharmaceutics, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society.
