A novel COVID-19 vaccine using modified bacterial DNA

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, describe a different way to build a COVID-19 vaccine, one that would, in theory, remain effective against new and emerging variants and could be taken as a pill, by inhalation or other delivery methods. Their findings are publish in the July 21, 2022 online issue of PLOS Pathogens. The research involved building plasmids genetically altered to contain bits of genetic material specifically intended to target a vulnerability in the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s spike protein, a portion of the virus critical to binding and infecting cells. Plasmids are small, circular DNA molecules from bacteria that are physically separate from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They can be used by scientists to transfer genetic material from one cell to another, after which the introduced genetic material can replicate in the receiving cell. The approach, said senior author Maurizio Zanetti, MD, professor...