In response to the current Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, Julie Ledgerwood and colleagues, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, and GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, Rixensart, Belgium, have initiated trials of a candidate vaccine against Ebola virus disease (EVD).
The vaccine contains genes encoding glycoproteins from two Ebola virus species, Sudan and Zaire. These genes are channeled by the carrier virus chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 (cAd3). Both the Ebola genes and cAd3 do not cause diseases in humans. In a previous trial in non-human primates the vaccine triggered an appropriate immune response and protected vaccinated animals against EVD. This vaccine was now tested in a trial with 20 healthy adults who were treated with two different dosages.
The production of anti-Ebola antibodies was successfully induced in all participants. A CD8 T cell response was observed in 7 of 10 participants treated with the higher dosis. CD8 T cells are immune cells that kill damaged or infected cells and possibly play an important role in the protection against EVD. The vaccine is currently being tested in expanded trials.
- Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vector Ebola Vaccine – Preliminary Report,
Julie E. Ledgerwood, Adam D. DeZure, Daphne A. Stanley, Laura Novik, Mary E. Enama, Nina M. Berkowitz, Zonghui Hu, Gyan Joshi, Aurélie Ploquin, Sandra Sitar, Ingelise J. Gordon, Sarah A. Plummer, LaSonji A. Holman, Cynthia S. Hendel, Galina Yamshchikov, Francois Roman, Alfredo Nicosia, Stefano Colloca, Riccardo Cortese, Robert T. Bailer, Richard M. Schwartz, Mario Roederer, John R. Mascola, Richard A. Koup, Nancy J. Sullivan, Barney S. Graham,
N. Engl. J. Med. 2014.
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1410863
