In a recent study published in the journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology, scientists from University College London reviewed the current achievements in the development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine and the challenges involved in limiting the transmission of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and four other human coronaviruses.
Study:Â In search of a pan-coronavirus vaccine: next-generation vaccine design and immune mechanisms. Image Credit:Â LookerStudio/Shutterstock.com
Background
Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been one of the biggest global public health crises in the last few decades, the concerted efforts worldwide in developing effective vaccines have highlighted the importance of understanding the immunological basis of developing resistance against respiratory viruses.
While the global morbidity and mortality rates associated with the pandemic have been staggering, the COVID-19 vaccines have also significantly reduced the spread of the virus and prevented a substantial number of deaths.
Since coronaviruses have been responsible for the three major pandemics in the last twenty years, developing a pan-coronavirus is essential.
Pan-coronavirus vaccine
The current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses that largely consist of the antigenically variant spike glycoprotein are specific to species and sometimes even to variants and elicit minimal cross-reactive immune responses against the coronavirus family’s other variants or viral species.
A pan-coronavirus approach aims to develop a vaccine that effectively protects against infections or severe disease caused by any coronavirus family viruses.
The four seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) OC43, 229E, NL63, HKU1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are responsible for