Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) have shown that an experimental mRNA vaccine can reduce the risk of infection caused by the tick-borne bacteria that causes Lyme disease in animals. The research was published in the journal Molecular Therapy.
Bacterium Borrelia burgdorferiThis bacteria, carried by ixodid ticks, causes Lyme disease, a set of symptoms that include severe joint pain, headache, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. Lyme disease vaccines are available for dogs, but there is no vaccine approved for use in humans.
Bacteria are more complex organisms than viruses, so it may be more difficult to develop effective vaccines against them, said the study’s senior author, Associate Professor of Microbiology Norbert Purdy.
The target of the vaccine was the OspA protein, which is contained in almost all strains. B. burgdorferi. Animal tests have shown that an mRNA vaccine targeting OspA triggers antibody and T cell production after a single vaccination and can protect against infection.
The new vaccine uses the same messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
Previous scientists I learnedWhich skin disease may increase cardiovascular risk.
Source: Gazeta
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