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Mosquito diseases
Scientists have been actively working for decades on vaccines for mosquito borne diseases; however, some vaccines e.g. Malaria, still elude them. The approach to date has relied on finding the best
protein
s from the disease-causing organism to use in a vaccine in an attempt to create “active” immunity.
PepTcell has adopted a novel approach that stems from the premise that exposure to molecules in the saliva of mosquitoes could later protect the person against infection by mosquito-borne parasites. PepTcell is examining whether there are any mosquito
protein
s, as distinct from pathogen
protein
s, that play a significant part in the process of infection by the pathogen, and against which the immune system could be primed. A vaccine that is capable of simultaneously protecting humans against many different mosquito transmitted diseases, controlling the mosquito population, and limiting the transmission of these diseases in endemic areas would be an enormous blockbuster, that would readily benefit both developed and less developed countries.
It is hypothesized that if saliva
protein
s can be identified and an effective immune response induced against them, this response may block or alter the process of infection to achieve the following outcomes:
•
The pathogen is unable to cause disease in the vaccinated individual.
•
A targeted immune response could block or alter the infection process of not only one, but a wide range of pathogens since mosquito transmitted diseases share a common method of delivery into the target organism i.e. humans
•
It is possible that immune cells or molecules, e.g. antibodies, directed against mosquito
protein
s and ingested by the mosquito during a blood feed on a vaccinated individual could interact with their targets inside the mosquito. Since mosquito
protein
s fulfil an important physiological role this could weaken the physiological development of the mosquito and result in reduced survival and or fecundity of the mosquito population including a reduction in the number of mosquitoes carrying the disease at any one time in any given geographical area.
PepTcell's mosquito-borne disease prophylactic vaccine is at the proof of concept stage.