Researchers were able to show how AI-generated T-cell-based vaccines could be effective in combating coronavirus. This was demonstrated among mouse models.
Challenges of Current Vaccines
According to SciTechDaily, artificial intelligence has the capacity to design T-cell vaccines that can provide encompassing protection. Penn State University researchers partnered with Evaxion Biotech for this breakthrough study regarding the potential of these AI-generated vaccines.
The Economic Times reports that current COVID-19 vaccines had vulnerability to mutations. Because of this, new variants could surface, and vaccine manufacturers would need to keep up with the emergence of new strains.
Effectiveness of Novel AI-Generated T-Cell-Based Vaccine
Rather than focusing on the mutating protein, the Evaxion Biotech team developed a vaccine that covered 17 epitopes from various SARS-CoV-2 proteins that the immune system recognized. These epitopes trigger a response of immunity from various T-cells. Hence, this ensures that it covers future strains.
Simply stated, this T-cell vaccine focuses on facilitating the response of the T-cells. Because of this, such vaccines could lead to better and longer immunity. They may even serve as models for other viral conditions that are seasonal, including the flu.
SciTechDaily notes that this is the first time for an AI-generated vaccine to be tested and to have demonstrated its effectiveness in a live model of viral challenges.
The Tech Explorist notes that, in the study, the scientists exposed mouse models to a lethal dose of SARS-CoV-2. In the course of their observations, they found out that 87.5% of T-cell vaccine recipients survived, while only 10% of the mice in the control group did. On top of this, within the two-week challenge period, each mouse survivor ended up recovering from the infection. The paper was included in the Frontiers in Immunology journal.
Girish Kirimanjeswara, an associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, notes that one advantage is that the virus would need to mutate many times in order to bypass the immunity mediated by the T-cells. Another advantage is that this immunity lasts long and, thus, reduces the need to get repeated booster shots.
Though T-cells have the remarkable capacity to remember foreign entities, the creation of a T-cell-based vaccine is longer and harder compared to the production of an antibody-based one. With the urgency brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no wonder that manufacturers focused on antibody-based vaccines.
But now that the world has passed the phase of urgency, novel T-cell-based vaccines could offer better longevity and effectiveness.
T-Cell-Based Vaccines Made Using AI Platform 'RAVEN'
While other biotech firms are also making T-cell-based doses, the Evaxion Biotech team specifically uses RAVEN (Rapidly Adaptive Viral rEspoNse), which is an AI platform, for predicting ideal vaccine targets. The platform enables scientists to predict strains in advance, even before they arrive.
Aside from helping out with COVID-19 developments, the RAVEN could also be used for the creation of enhanced flu vaccines.
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