Experimental Vaccine for Ebola

One week ago, the Weizmann Institute of Science and a research team in Germany uncovered the details of the molecular response that occurs in the immune system after vaccination against Ebola. The group singled out the B cells and conducted deep sequencing, tracing the lineages of those cells and isolating individual antibodies that bound to viral proteins. They focused on exactly how and where the antibodies bind to the viral glycoprotein used in the vaccine, and just how this binding neutralizes the virus so effectively. With an advanced electron microscopy unit, the group was able to distinguish the exact make-up of these antibodies and to map the points at which these attached to the viral protein. They confirmed that the part of the immune response that was created by the vaccine and which was studied by the group is indeed effective, ultimately explaining the mechanism of protection. Although there is still too little information to tell whether the vaccine can produce an immune response against other Ebola virus species, the study suggested that the antibodies did work against multiple isolates of a single species. Hopefully further research will show whether a single vaccine can fight the disease.

Sophia Gamboa

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