The project seeks to strengthen the immune response with nanoparticles.
Scientists from the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon, led by Luis Graca, are investigating nanoparticles that improve the efficacy of vaccines, increasing the capacity of the immune system of people with immune deficits.
“This is the case, for example, of the elderly, who are not protected by vaccines as well because their immune system has lost its steam,” explains Graca. One example is the flu vaccine, an infection that continues to have high rates of mortality and morbidity in older adults. Graca’s research is the result of collaboration with Helena Florindo, from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Lisbon. “She is an expert in nanomaterials and nanoparticles applied to cancer therapy. She had observed that some of the compounds she works with boosted the immune system and favored the production of neutralizing antibodies. Together with her, we thought that if we applied these nanomaterials to vaccines, we could make them more effective, especially in people with more compromised immune systems”, explains Graca.
Graca and Florindo decided to experiment if the nanoparticles boosted the immune response and produced more neutralizing antibodies, effective in protecting against infections, in contexts other than cancer. They got good results, and now they are finalizing the composition of these molecules to achieve the strongest possible immune response.
“There is still a long way to go before our results can be transferred to the population. Even with good results in the laboratory and in preclinical studies, we still have to demonstrate that all the components of the vaccine are safe and effective, before
proceed with the entire regulatory system that leads to testing them in clinical trials”, the researcher concludes without hesitation. Isabel Troytino