COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 27 (UPI) -- Researchers in Denmark have created a "platform" for vaccines that mimics the structure of a virus, which they say could speed up the process and make it easier to create effective vaccines.
The virus-like structure, to which harmless parts of viruses can be attached, aids in provoking an immune response, researchers report in a study published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.
The researchers also report their virus-like structure can motivate the immune system to attack its own cells, potentially allowing for the treatment of cancer and other diseases that are not caused by pathogens.
Vaccines work by exposing the immune system to an inactivated -- or non-threatening -- form of a virus, allowing the body to learn how to prevent infection. Most are developed by testing correct levels of a virus to accomplish this goal, but this can leave vaccines too weak or dangerously strong and unusable, and it does not work for all pathogens or diseases.
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"Previously, it was a major problem to activate the immune system and get an adequate response," Susan Thrane, a doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen, said in a press release. "We have lacked the possibility to easily create a vaccine which mimics something that will trigger a natural response from the body, but the new virus-like platform now allows us to do so. In other words, we now have a unique technique that enables us to develop vaccines against diseases that we have so far been unable to fight."
In the proof-of-concept study, researchers show the method of vaccine development elicits proper immune response, in one case using a vaccination for malaria.
Mimicking the structure of a virus, even when not introducing an active virus to the body, allows immune cells to recognize them.
"The major research breakthrough is that we have created a general and user-friendly platform for the development of a special type of effective and safe vaccines," said Dr. Adam Sander, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen. "The highly effective method opens a new door for controlling diseases such as cancer, asthma, allergies and cardiovascular diseases by means of vaccines. We are therefore already now able to initiate strategies to combat some of the biggest killers in the western world."
