MUSC develops Ebola vaccine that may protect against Sudan and Zaire strains

Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and Maryland have developed a bivalent vaccine that may protect against both the Sudan and Zaire species of the Ebola virus. Their findings appear in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Virology.

The Ebola virus, or EBOV, causes a severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates resulting in death in 90% of those infected. Two particular species, Sudan ebolavirus, or SEBOV, and Zaire ebolavirus, or ZEBOV, have been responsible for the deadly human outbreaks that have occurred in Africa. To date, outbreaks have been limited to this region; however, increasing international travel and bioterrorist threats have reinforced the need for an effective and swift-acting vaccine.

In the study, researchers vaccinated mice with a bivalent vaccine containing both SEBOV and ZEBOV genes, and found that vaccination led to efficient induction of EBOV antibody and immune responses to both species. In addition, a group of immunized mice were challenged with a lethal dose of ZEBOV, and the survival rate was 100%.

“To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a bivalent EBOV vaccine to co-express multiple serotype proteins in a single vaccine construct, eliciting efficient humoral and cellular immune responses to both SEBOV and ZEBOV antigens,” said Dr. John Dong, professor of microbiology and immunology and head of the MUSC research team.

Dong is also a member of the MUSC Center for Gene, Cell and Vaccine Therapy. The goal of this center is to develop clinical trials in humans based on findings in the research laboratories.

Presently, Dong and his team at MUSC are developing other vaccines based on this technology against the viruses that cause AIDS (HIV), dengue fever and West Nile Encephalitis. It is anticipated that should a pandemic strain of the influenza virus emerge, this technology will be used in the rapid development of an effective vaccine.