Lead Inventors: Saul J. Silverstein Ph.D., Christos A. Panagiotidis Ph.D., Christos A Kyratsous, Mattew S. Walters
Vacine for Herpes Viruses using recombinant Herpes simplex virus :
Viral vaccines were historically either inactivated viruses or live, attenuated viruses. However, these types of vaccines have not been feasible for certain viruses, such as Herpes Viruses. This technology provided a method to develop new type of vaccines for Herpes Virus.
Herpes vaccine development uses recombinant Herpes viruses backbone that is sensitive to interferon:
The technology constructed a recombinant Herpes simplex virus (HSV), wherein the coding sequences for certain gene were replaced. This recombinant HSV backbone is sensitive to interferon and does not interfere with innate immunity of the hosts. What's more, the recombinant HSV backbone allows efficient expression of genes from the viral genome, improving virus production and thus vaccine yields, which presents an idea vector for vaccine development.
Applications:
• The technology provides a suitable framework for Herpes Viruses vaccine development, for example, Varicella Zoster Virus vaccine
• The technology can be also used to develop more efficient and less toxic viral vector for gene transfer studies and therapies
Advantages:
• The technology provides a novel frame work for Herpes Viruses vaccine development
• The technology provides a frame work allows for the production of large quantities of vaccines for Herpes Viruses
Patent Status: Patent Pending
Licensing Status: Available for Licensing and Sponsored Research Support
Publications: Kyratsous CA, Walters MS, Panagiotidis CA, Silverstein SJ. Complementation of a herpes simplex virus ICP0 null mutant by varicella-zoster virus ORF61p. (2009) J Virol. 83(20):10637-10643
