When good bacteria go bad - New links between bacteremia and probiotic use

Researchers from Osaka University find that all identified C. butyricum bacteremia strains were probiotic derivatives using whole-genome sequencing .

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OSAKA UNIVERSITY

 

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DETAILED CLINICAL INFORMATION ON FIVE CASES

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CREDIT: OSAKA UNIVERSITY

Osaka, Japan – Probiotics offer a range of health benefits, but their adverse effects can occasionally lead to bacteremia, wherein bacteria circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body. In Japan, Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) MIYAIRI 588 is commonly used, yet the prevalence and characteristics of bacteremia caused by this strain, as well as its bacteriological and genetic profile, remain unknown.

A research team from the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, found an association between bacteremia and probiotics from a study of the genetic materials of bacteria in hospitalized patients with bacteremia.

From September 2011 to February 2023, Osaka University Hospital documented 6,576 cases of positive blood cultures. Among these, C. butyricum was detected in five cases (0.08%). Whole-genome sequencing revealed that all five strains of C. butyricum-causing bacteremia were derived from probiotics. In two of these cases, no clear reason for appropriate oral intake of the probiotics could be identified, and one patient died within 90 days after the bacteremia diagnosis.

"Probiotics can provide a variety of health benefits, but this study shows that even such agents can present with rare but serious adverse events," says study lead author Ryuichi Minoda Sada. "Our findings underscore the risk for bacteremia resulting from probiotic use, especially in hospitalized patients, necessitating judicious prescription practices."

It is expected that the results of this study will increase awareness of the potential health risks associated with probiotics. It is recommended to avoid aimless and unnecessary prescribing of probiotics, especially in hospitalized patients undergoing immunosuppressive treatment.

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The article, “Clostridium butyricum Bacteremia Associated with Probiotic Use, Japan,” was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases at DOI: http://doi.org/10.3201/eid3004.231633

About Osaka University
Osaka University was founded in 1931 as one of the seven imperial universities of Japan and is now one of Japan's leading comprehensive universities with a broad disciplinary spectrum. This strength is coupled with a singular drive for innovation that extends throughout the scientific process, from fundamental research to the creation of applied technology with positive economic impacts. Its commitment to innovation has been recognized in Japan and around the world, being named Japan's most innovative university in 2015 (Reuters 2015 Top 100) and one of the most innovative institutions in the world in 2017 (Innovative Universities and the Nature Index Innovation 2017). Now, Osaka University is leveraging its role as a Designated National University Corporation selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to contribute to innovation for human welfare, sustainable development of society, and social transformation.
Website: https://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en

 

Antibiotic susceptibility of each clinical bacterial strain and three medicinal strains

Results of whole-genome sequencing of Clostridium butyricum obtained from blood culture

CREDIT

Osaka University

JOURNAL

Emerging Infectious Diseases

DOI

10.3201/eid3004.231633 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Clostridium butyricum Bacteremia Associated with Probiotic Use, Japan

 

When working out, males are programmed to burn more fat, while females recycle it—at least in rats

A new window into fat turns up a major male-female difference

DOE/PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

RICHLAND, Wash.—Vigorous exercise burns fat more in males than in females—an unexpected finding from the largest study to date to explore how exercise affects the body.

 

“Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but no one knows exactly why,” said Joshua Adkins, a scientist at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and a corresponding author of a study published online May 1 in Nature Metabolism. “We don’t know what’s happening in the body that creates such great benefits.”

 

The results come from the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), a years-long study investigating the molecular actions that translate vigorous movement into a glut of health benefits. The collaboration stretches across more than two dozen sites around the country, involving more than 100 scientists.

 

The group published its core paper in the journal Nature on May 1, finding that the effects of exercise are extensive, affecting more than 35,000 molecules. No tissue studied goes unchanged.

 

The study subjects were rats, which share much of their basic physiology with people. This group of scientists is now studying more than 1,500 people, using the findings from rats as a starting point to investigate what happens in humans.

 

Overall, the MoTrPAC team looked at 18 tissue types as well as blood. They found molecular signals in both males and females that demonstrated extensive benefits of exercise: enhanced liver function, stronger heart muscle, enriched immunity, and reduced inflammation in the lungs and gut. Throughout the body, cellular organelles known as mitochondria—the energy producers in cells—become healthier after exercise.

 

The most remarkable difference between the sexes was in the fat tissue, the subject of the Nature Metabolism paper.

“We found that fat tissue between males and females is very different even in sedentary animals,” said Christopher Newgard, a corresponding author and director of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. “But then I was truly gobsmacked with how amazingly different the sex-dependent responses to exercise are. Males burn fat for energy while females preserve their fat mass. This is brought about by many differences in molecular responses lurking beneath the surface in fat from male compared to female rats. The dichotomy is truly striking.”

 

In addition to Adkins and Newgard, corresponding authors of the Nature Metabolism paper are Sue Bodine of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Simon Schenk of the University of California San Diego. The paper has three “first authors” from PNNL: Gina Many, James Sanford and Tyler Sagendorf.

 

Findings from rats on the run

The results are based on an analysis of tissues and blood samples from rats that ran on treadmills in a research laboratory at the University of Iowa. The team made thousands of measurements of proteins, molecular messengers known as transcripts, and chemical compounds called metabolites. Those measurements give scientists clues about what’s actually happening in the body. Behind every breath, thought, movement or step on a treadmill, there’s a cascade of molecular actions that make things happen and affect the body.

 

The samples were sent to several laboratories for analysis. Scientists at PNNL analyzed the proteins in the fat samples—a challenging task because fat has few proteins relative to lipids. The team looked at white adipose tissue, by far the most prevalent form of fat in the body.

 

Scientists studied rats that ran five days a week for one, two, four or eight weeks, comparing them to sedentary rats. The team studied healthy, lean animals. The scientists note that the study’s finding can’t be automatically applied to animals that are obese, for instance, or to other types of exercises, such as strength training.

 

 

Less fat, same amount of fat, healthier fat

The difference in fat characteristics was remarkable even between male and female rats that were sedentary. More than 20,000 molecular measures were different. Overall, the fat in female rats was healthier both before and after training.

 

Male and female sedentary rats did have one characteristic in common: They all gained weight throughout the study.

 

The differences in rats that ran the treadmill were even more noteworthy. Males burned fat and kept it off. Females initially burned fat, but by the end of eight weeks, their fat stores were back to where they were when they started. Male rats that exercised lost fat. Female rats that exercised did not lose fat—but they did not gain fat as their sedentary counterparts did.

 

Exercise did make the fat stores of both sexes healthier—more metabolically active and energetic, with fewer signals like those involved in obesity. This was more noteworthy in the male rats, whose fat was less healthy to start.

 

“We saw both sexes mobilize their metabolism to get the energy they need,” said first author Gina Many. “But they get their energy in different ways. Females do so without drawing much from their fat stores, likely because those are critical to reproductive health.”

In recent decades, scientists have learned that fat isn’t simply a blob of unwelcome weight. It’s a major organ that runs throughout our body, like the skin, that secretes hormones and other compounds that play an important role in our health. Fat is a font of both health and disease.

 

A road map from rats to people

“These findings help set the landscape to understand disease risk and establish a basis for more personalized and targeted health interventions,” said Many.

 

The investigators said the results make it crucial that health studies include women and men, noting that when it comes to exercise, many more men than women have been studied.

“This study really opened my eyes,” said Newgard. “The differences between the sexes are much more vast than I would have anticipated. This is changing the way I am approaching other studies, including one on insulin resistance in males and females. These findings provide a road map for those experiments.”

The MoTrPAC study is funded by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund. Many of the protein analyses discussed in the Nature Metabolism paper were done at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science user facility on the PNNL campus. The technologies used by the PNNL team in the MoTrPAC experiment are also used to explore molecular reactions important to climate, energy and the environment.

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JOURNAL

Nature Metabolism

DOI

10.1038/s42255-023-00959-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Sexual dimorphism and the multi-omic response to exercise training in rat subcutaneous white adipose tissue

 

Why do male chicks play more than females? Study finds answers in distant ancestor

Sex differences in the frequency of play by chicks can be explained by sex differences in behavior of adults

FRONTIERS

 

VIDEO: 

MALE CHICKS OF THE DOMESTIC CHICKEN PLAY MORE THAN FEMALES

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CREDIT: REBECCA OSCARSSON

Play is widespread, but far from ubiquitous, across the animal kingdom. Especially common in mammals, play is also known to occur in taxa as diverse as birds, fish, octopuses, and even insects. But what is its function, given that natural selection never selects fun for its own sake? One prominent hypothesis is that play is beneficial to individuals because it allows them to practice skills needed later in life.

Now, a study in Frontiers in Ethology has shown that male baby chickens play far more than females. This result is of interest given that domestic chickens are directly descended from a species – red jungle fowl – with a pronounced difference between the sexes in morphology, coloration, and behavior.

“Here we show for the first time that there are clear sex differences in the age-related development of play in chickens,” said first author Rebecca Oscarsson, a PhD student at Linköping University in Sweden.

“This difference is mainly because males engage more in social and object play.”

Red junglefowl were domesticated by humans between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago in mainland Southeast Asia. Multiple hybridization events took place since then, so that modern domestic chickens also carry genes from green, Sri Lankan, and grey junglefowl. In each of these species, males are more colorful, aggressive, and vigilant than females, and provide food for their mates.

Playpens

The researchers incubated white leghorn eggs from a farm, and determined the sex of each newborn chick from the length of its wings. They kept the chicks in cages with a sawdust floor, a heat-roof, and food and water throughout the experimental period. They then transferred the chicks to larger arenas or ‘playpens’ twice per week. The scientists observed the chicks for 30 minutes in these playpens and scored the occurrence within 15-second intervals of play by each chick. The chicks were observed on 15 different days, when they were between six and 53 days old.

The researchers distinguished 12 distinct play behaviors. Examples of locomotor play were frolicking and wing flapping. Object play included chasing an object or pecking at it or exchanging it with another chick. Social play included sparring, jumping, and sparring stand-offs.

10 minutes into the observations, the observer introduced a fake rubber worm into the playpen. This served to stimulate another type of object play: worm-running, where a chick carried the worm in its beak and ran around with it. Worm-running may be the play equivalent of ‘tidbitting’, a series of courtship behaviors while manipulating food items, which is done exclusively by adult males and directed at females.

Males play more

Object play was more frequently seen than social play, while locomotor play was least common. Both females and males showed every type of playful behavior. However, the frequency of play differed between them: male chicks played more overall than females. This was due to males engaging more often in object and social play, while there was no difference between the sexes in the frequency of locomotor play.

The frequency of play also depended on age since hatching: for males, this peaked around 43 days for males, and around 36 days in females, before gradually declining at later ages.

The researcher concluded that these sex differences in chicks in the frequency of play can be explained by the high degree of sexual dimorphism of adult junglefowl. This means that male chicks would benefit more from practicing various skills related to physical ability and social tactics.

Practice for later in life

“We still don’t know the adaptive function of play for any species,” said author Dr Per Jensen, a professor at Linköping University and Oscarsson’s academic supervisor.

“However, the present study indicates that a possible function is to prepare animals for specific challenges they may encounter later in life. In a species like the chicken, where only males compete for territories, it makes sense that they engage in more social play as young.”

“Many questions remain unanswered with respect to the adaptive functions of play, for example its effects on later cognitive abilities. We now plan to look into the neurobiological and genetic mechanisms of play. For example, it’s possible that the early development of the cerebellum is linked to play behavior,” said Jensen.

 

Male chicks of the domestic chicken play more than females

CREDIT

Rebecca Oscarsson

CAPTION

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Ethology

DOI

10.3389/fetho.2024.1392378 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Male chicks play more than females – sex differences in chicken play ontogeny

 

Self-critical perfectionism gnaws on students’ well-being already in lower secondary school

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

Young people’s perfectionism is manifested as concern over their competence and fear of making mistakes.

A new study among ninth-graders attending lower secondary school in Swedish-speaking areas of Finland identified four perfectionistic profiles with varying associations with students’ psychological well-being. The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and Åbo Akademi University.

Perfectionism is characterised by high standards and striving for excellence, but it also involves concerns over one’s own performance and dissatisfaction with one’s achievements. In other words, there is both a positive and a negative side to perfectionism. Different individuals, however, place different emphasis on strivings and concerns.

“We identified four distinct perfectionistic profiles: moderately concerned (relatively low strivings and relatively high concerns), perfectionists (high strivings and high concerns), ambitious (high strivings and low concerns), and non-perfectionists (low strivings and low concerns),” Doctoral Researcher Anna Kuusi of the University of Eastern Finland says.

The findings are in line with previous studies conducted among general upper secondary school and university students. The present study is the first among lower secondary school students in Finland.

“Recent years have seen an increase in both perfectionism and exhaustion among young people, so it is important to determine at what stage and in what forms these experiences emerge,” Kuusi notes.

Most ninth-graders are moderately concerned – perfectionistic profiles are associated with well-being

The study showed that perfectionistic profiles are substantially stable: around 80 per cent of the students maintained the same profile over the school year. However, some significant transitions were observed as well: some students transitioned from moderately concerned to non-perfectionist or perfectionist, or from perfectionist to moderately concerned. The profiles and transitions were also associated with well-being.

“Although both ambitious and perfectionist students were highly engaged and had high strivings, perfectionists displayed more burnout and anxiety and depressive symptoms than ambitious students, who only displayed a little of these. Both of these profiles, i.e., ambitious and perfectionist, which are characterised by high concerns, were associated with poorer well-being.”

The moderately concerned profile was the most prevalent, and it can be thought to represent the typical ninth-grader. According to Kuusi, this is noteworthy because students with this profile also displayed relatively high emotional exhaustion as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms, compared to students with a non-perfectionist or an ambitious profile.

Transitions between profiles were also associated with well-being. A transition from moderately concerned to perfectionist was associated with higher exhaustion, whereas a transition from moderately concerned to non-perfectionist was associated with fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms.

“The findings show that it is particularly important to understand how students’ self-criticism and dissatisfaction with their own achievements are linked to poorer well-being. High goals and engagement do not guarantee the well-being of a student if, at the same time, they are very concerned about their performance,” Kuusi concludes.

The data used in the study constitutes part of the broader longitudinal research project Student Well-being and Learning in Future Society led by Åbo Akademi University. Ninth-grade students from lower secondary schools from different regions of Swedish-speaking areas of Finland responded to surveys conducted twice in the school year 2019–2020.

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JOURNAL

Learning and Individual Differences

DOI

10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102419 

ARTICLE TITLE

Lower secondary students’ perfectionistic profiles: Stability, transitions, and connections with well-being.

 

LGBTQI+ health-related content in medical school has increased

Better curriculum content, including faculty training, still needed

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

(Boston)—Reducing barriers to comprehensive and affirming healthcare for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) populations requires physicians to receive LGBTQI+ health content during undergraduate medical education (UME). With more than 7% of the U.S. adult population, 4% of the Canadian adult population and 20% of persons in the U.S. ages 18-25 who are LGBTQI+, there is a critical need to train health care professionals on their specific healthcare needs. LGBTQI+ people experience a higher prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, substance use, and mental health concerns like anxiety, depression and suicidality, as well as elevated cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.

 

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends core competencies regarding LGBTQI+ health-related content. Researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (BMC), report time dedicated to these topics did increase in 2022, as compared to a study done in 2011; but they also found the breadth, efficacy, or quality of instruction continues to vary substantially.

 

“Despite the increased hours, the numbers still fall short based on recommended LGBTQI+ health competencies from the AAMC,” says lead author Carl G. Streed, MD, MPH, FACP, FAHA, associated professor of medicine at the school.  “While most deans of medical education reported their institutions’ coverage of LGBTQI+ health as ‘fair,’ ‘good,’ or ‘very good,’ there continues to be a call from UME leadership to increase curricular content. This requires dedicated training for faculty and students,” said Streed.

 

To determine the frequency and extent of institutional instruction in 17 LGBTQI+ health-related topics, strategies for increasing LGBTQI+ health-related content and faculty development opportunities, researchers invited the deans of medical education (or their equivalent) at 214 allopathic or osteopathic medical schools in the U.S. and Canada to complete a 36-question, web-based questionnaire between June 2021 and September 2022.

 

The responses revealed that the time dedicated to LGBTQI+ health-related content in medical school in 2022 was a median of 11 hours, a significant increase of 6 hours since 2011. However, the number of hours in the required curriculum, as well as number of LGBTQI+ health-related topics covered, remained varied from school to school.
 

According to the researchers, gaps in UME curricula and outcomes are well documented and persist in the face of calls to action. “Consequently, student comfort with caring for LGBTQI+ populations has lagged. Similar gaps in knowledge and comfort have been reported internationally. These results are contemporary with our findings, suggesting that even a median of 11 hours of LGBTQI+ content is insufficient,” explains Streed, who also is research lead of the GenderCare Center at BMC.
 

Streed believes that successful incorporation of LGBTQI+ health into UME requires thoughtfully developed LGBTQI+ health competencies and objectives with appropriate instructional methods and assessments to ensure mastery. “While the optimal solution to improving LGBTQI+ training is likely institution- and context-dependent, without a mandate from governing bodies such as the AAMC we will continue to see a dearth of physicians prepared to care for these populations.  Additionally, graduate medical education must complement UME to ensure trainees receive specialty-specific training on LGBTQI+ health.”

 

These findings appear online in BMC Medical Education.

 

Dr. Streed was partially supported through the American Heart Association career development grant (20CDA35320148), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute career development grant (K01HL151902), Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Grant #2022061). Streed received funding from the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Department of Medicine Career Investment Award utilized to fund statistical support (Michals, Sisson) for this study.  Dr. Obedin-Maliver’s and Lunn’s time were partially supported by the following grants (on topics unrelated to this work) during the conduct of this study by the National Institutes of Health (R21MD015878, R01CA237670, R01DA052016, OT2OD025276).

Note to Editors:

Dr. Streed received consultation fees from EverlyWell, L’Oreal, the Research Institute for Gender Therapeutics, and the Texas Health Institute on topics unrelated to this work. Dr. Obedin-Maliver received consultation fees from Ibis Reproductive Health, Hims Inc., Folx Health Inc., and Sage Therapeutics on topics unrelated to this work. Dr. Lunn received consultation fees from Hims Inc., Folx Health Inc., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc., and the American Dental Association on topics unrelated to this work.

 

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JOURNAL

BMC Medical Education

DOI

10.1186/s12909-024-05469-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Sexual and gender minority content in undergraduate medical education in the United States and Canada: current state and changes since 2011

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

1-May-2024

COI STATEMENT

Dr. Streed received consultation fees from EverlyWell, L’Oreal, the Research Institute for Gender Therapeutics, and the Texas Health Institute on topics unrelated to this work. Dr. Obedin-Maliver received consultation fees from Ibis Reproductive Health, Hims Inc., Folx Health Inc., and Sage Therapeutics on topics unrelated to this work. Dr. Lunn received consultation fees from Hims Inc., Folx Health Inc., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc., and the American Dental Association on topics unrelated to this work.

 

Study explores coping strategies and self-stigma among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Indonesia

This article by Dr. Ahmad Ikhlasul Amal and colleagues is published in the journal, The Open Public Health Journal

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

Individuals living with HIV often face significant physical and mental stress, including self-stigma, which can impede their ability to seek treatment and disclose their status. Adopting effective coping strategies helps them manage these challenges to their well-being. However, research on coping strategies and self-stigma in newly diagnosed HIV patients in Indonesia remains limited.

Researchers from Indonesia aimed to examine how people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Indonesia cope with their emotions and how this relates to their self-perception.

Conducted in Semarang City, Indonesia, at the Poncol and Halmahera Public Health Centers, the research involved 150 individuals diagnosed with HIV within the past year. Participants completed two questionnaires assessing coping strategies and self-perception, and the data were analyzed using the Sommers test.

The findings revealed that a majority of participants, approximately 64.7%, reported low coping strategies, while 74% experienced high levels of self-stigma. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation (p-value = 0.001, correlation strength = 0.375) between coping strategies and self-stigma, indicating a moderate relationship.

In essence, the study highlights the interconnectedness between coping mechanisms and self-stigma among PLHIV in Indonesia, underscoring the importance of addressing both aspects in HIV care and support programs.

Read the research here; https://bit.ly/3UICI48

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JOURNAL

The Open Public Health Journal

DOI

10.2174/0118749445304007240328052310 

ARTICLE TITLE

Study Explores Coping Strategies and Self-Stigma Among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in Indonesia

 WAIT, WHAT?!

New vaccine effective against coronaviruses that haven’t even emerged yet

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

 

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RORY HILLS, A GRADUATE RESEARCHER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE’S DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOLOGY, WANTS TO BE READY WITH A VACCINE THAT WILL PROTECT US AGAINST THE NEXT CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC BEFORE THE PANDEMIC HAS EVEN STARTED.

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CREDIT: JACQUELINE GARGET

Researchers have developed a new vaccine technology that has been shown in mice to provide protection against a broad range of coronaviruses with potential for future disease outbreaks - including ones we don’t even know about.

This is a new approach to vaccine development called ‘proactive vaccinology’, where scientists build a vaccine before the disease-causing pathogen even emerges.

The new vaccine works by training the body’s immune system to recognise specific regions of eight different coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and several that are currently circulating in bats and have potential to jump to humans and cause a pandemic.

Key to its effectiveness is that the specific virus regions the vaccine targets also appear in many related coronaviruses. By training the immune system to attack these regions, it gives protection against other coronaviruses not represented in the vaccine – including ones that haven’t even been identified yet.

For example, the new vaccine does not include the SARS-CoV-1 coronavirus, which caused the 2003 SARS outbreak, yet it still induces an immune response to that virus.

“Our focus is to create a vaccine that will protect us against the next coronavirus pandemic, and have it ready before the pandemic has even started,” said Rory Hills, a graduate researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Pharmacology and first author of the report.

He added: “We’ve created a vaccine that provides protection against a broad range of different coronaviruses – including ones we don’t even know about yet.”

The results are published today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

“We don’t have to wait for new coronaviruses to emerge. We know enough about coronaviruses, and different immune responses to them, that we can get going with building protective vaccines against unknown coronaviruses now,” said Professor Mark Howarth in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Pharmacology, senior author of the report.

He added: “Scientists did a great job in quickly producing an extremely effective COVID vaccine during the last pandemic, but the world still had a massive crisis with a huge number of deaths. We need to work out how we can do even better than that in the future, and a powerful component of that is starting to build the vaccines in advance.”

The new ‘Quartet Nanocage’ vaccine is based on a structure called a nanoparticle – a ball of proteins held together by incredibly strong interactions. Chains of different viral antigens are attached to this nanoparticle using a novel ‘protein superglue’. Multiple antigens are included in these chains, which trains the immune system to target specific regions shared across a broad range of coronaviruses.

This study demonstrated that the new vaccine raises a broad immune response, even in mice that were pre-immunised with SARS-CoV-2.

The new vaccine is much simpler in design than other broadly protective vaccines currently in development, which the researchers say should accelerate its route into clinical trials.

The underlying technology they have developed also has potential for use in vaccine development to protect against many other health challenges.

The work involved a collaboration between scientists at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and Caltech. It improves on previous work, by the Oxford and Caltech groups, to develop a novel all-in-one vaccine against coronavirus threats. The vaccine developed by Oxford and Caltech should enter Phase 1 clinical trials in early 2025, but its complex nature makes it challenging to manufacture which could limit large-scale production.

Conventional vaccines include a single antigen to train the immune system to target a single specific virus. This may not protect against a diverse range of existing coronaviruses, or against pathogens that are newly emerging.

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JOURNAL

Nature Nanotechnology

DOI

10.1038/s41565-024-01655-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Proactive vaccination using multiviral Quartet Nanocages to elicit broad anti-coronavirus responses.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

6-May-2024