Media Availability: NIH-Developed Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine Elicits Potent Neutralizing Antibodies in Animals

Media Availability: NIH-Developed Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine Elicits Potent Neutralizing Antibodies in Animals

Thursday, August 13, 2015

NIH-Developed Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine Elicits Potent Neutralizing Antibodies in Animals

Using the fluorescent antibody (FA) staining technique, this photomicrograph reveals the cumulative effect of the Epstein-Barr virus on cells. Credit: CDC

NIAID researchers and their collaborators have developed an experimental, nanoparticle-based vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that induced potent neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated mice and monkeys. EBV is one of the most common human viruses in the world and is associated with nearly 200,000 cases of cancer ann. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine to prevent EBV infection. In the journal Cell, investigators say that using a structure-based vaccine design and self-assembling nanoparticles to deliver a viral protein that prompts an immune response could be a promising approach for developing an EBV vaccine for humans.