Connie Schmaljohn, senior research scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, announced that DoD scientists are exploring a new DNA vaccine delivery method at the webcast “Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military”.
“DNA offers a number of advantages over conventional vaccine approaches, especially with regard to biodefense vaccines. This is important when rapid vaccine development is needed for a newly emerging disease threat or possibly for a genetically engineered biological warfare pathogen.”
One of the newest DNA vaccine delivery methods relies on technology known as the “gene gun,” which is capable of delivering the vaccine directly into cells. The needle-free vaccination method is more cost-effective and less painful for the recipient.
“The DNA is first coated onto very, very tiny gold beads, and those gold beads with the DNA are then put inside of a plastic device that’s about the size of a small flashlight. Inside that device is also a little canister of compressed helium gas. When the trigger of the gene gun device is pushed, the gas is released and it propels the gold coated with the DNA out of the device into the skin of the vaccine recipient.”
USAMRIID is conducting a human study of DNA vaccines using this delivery method. Schmaljohn’s research team has isolated small amounts of DNA from the Hantaan and Puumala viruses - known health threats to U.S. troops stationed in Europe and Asia to develop the vaccines. Both vaccines are in Phase I clinical testing, the first step toward licensure by the FDA.
“Its main goal is actually to prove that the vaccine is safe in humans, but of course, we’re also interested in determining if it’s inducing an immune response. The hantaviruses, once they infect humans, can cause one of two serious human illnesses: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which occurs in Asia and Europe, or hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which occurs in the Americas. Today there’s more than 100,000 cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome each year, with the highest number occurring in China, Russia … Scandinavia and other parts of Europe.”
USAMRIID is producing a DNA vaccine for the Asian and European hantaviruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. This disease first was recognized as a threat during the Korean War.
These viruses are found in many types of rodents, including rats, field mice and meadow voles.
“They’re transmitted to humans in the aerosols of rodent’s urine, feces and saliva. The rodents that carry these viruses are persistently infected, and they show no signs of illness.”
Over tens of thousands of years, these viruses and rodents have formed a mutually exclusive relationship in which both have adapted to one another. While the virus doesn’t appear to affect the rodents’ health, the virus does pose significant risk to humans.
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