For the first time ever, an Israeli research team has created an mRNA vaccine that can be used to treat a lethal plague-causing bacteria that has been linked to some of the worst pandemics in recorded human history.
Until now, mRNA vaccines, such as those targeting Covid-19, have only been successful against viruses but not bacteria.
The novel discovery opens the door to effective vaccination against bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
The Yersinia pestis bacterium is what causes the plague. Depending on the type of illness, symptoms change. The most dangerous type is pneumonic plague, which spreads easily and is extremely lethal without quick antibiotic treatment.
The mRNA-based vaccine was created by a team from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Israel Institute for Biological Research. It is 100% successful against the human-lethal Yersinia pestis bacteria.
The research, which used an animal model, showed that all treated animals had complete immunity to the bacteria.
“There are many pathogenic bacteria for which we have no vaccines. Moreover, due to excessive use of antibiotics over the last few decades, many bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics, reducing the effectiveness of these important drugs. Consequently, antibiotic-resistant bacteria already pose a real threat to human health worldwide,” said the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at TAU’s Prof. Dan Peer.
According to Peer, creating a novel immunisation could be the solution to this widespread issue.
The team tried the novel mRNA vaccine in the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, on animals that had been exposed to a deadly bacterium. All of the unvaccinated animals perished within a week, but the animals who received the immunisation survived.
Additionally, one dosage of one of the vaccination techniques gave complete protection just two weeks after it was given. The capacity to offer complete protection with just one dose is essential for defence against upcoming bacterial pandemics that propagate quickly.
“It is important to note that the Covid-19 vaccine was developed so quickly because it relied on years of research on mRNA vaccines for similar viruses. If tomorrow we face some kind of bacterial pandemic, our study will provide a pathway for quickly developing safe and effective mRNA vaccines,” said Peer.
