BENGALURU: If the ‘Synthetic Biology’ method, involving redesigning one’s own blood cells and re-engineering them to act like nanobots inside the body to spot a disease and fight it, then it can create a promising new vehicle for vaccine delivery, feels Dr U S Vishal Rao, dean and researcher at HCG Cancer Institute and also member of the state Covid Task Force.
He said this in reference to physicists, chemists and immunologists at McMaster University in Canada teaming up to modify red blood cells to transport viral agents which can safely trigger the immune system to protect the body against SARS-CoV-2.
The new method, described in the journal PLOS ONE, is a unique approach to vaccination. Red blood cell membranes are embedded with SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, which then form virus-like particles. “We take red blood cells and remove everything from the inside. We then attach spike proteins to their outside to mimic a coronavirus,” explains graduate student Isabella Passos-Gastaldo, lead author of the paper.
Dr Vishal Rao explains that a similar method is used in cancer treatment where the blood cells are re-engineered and the cells can be trained in a biology lab to identify outside pathogens better and double the power to recognise them and fight them as soldiers.
The authors of the study found that current vaccine delivery methods often cause drastic immune system reactions and have short-lived responses. “This delivery platform opens new possibilities for vaccines and therapeutics,” the researchers added.
According to Dr Vishal, in this kind of aspect of synthetic biology, the cells can be loaded with a large amount of viral proteins, but with very few side effects. The researchers first reported this technique in 2020, when they modified red blood cells to deliver drugs throughout the body, which could then target infections or treat catastrophic diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s. “This platform makes our own blood cells smart in many different ways,” explains another author. “In this case it’s a vaccine.”
Speaking to TNSE, Dr Sagar Bhattad, Consultant, Paediatric Immunology and Rheumatology, Aster CMI Hospital, who termed the research as promising, said, “Presently, what we know is that the vaccine delivery methods often cause drastic immune system reactions and have short-lived responses. The new research looks promising. However, we still need to have enough data to understand its efficacy. If this works, the technology can be quickly adapted and used effectively. The technology can be quickly adapted to develop vaccines for variants or new viruses that may emerge in the future.”
Dr Vishal says India is also looking towards investing more into research related to Synthetic Biology, not just for SARS-CoV2, but other chronic diseases too.