Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a universal vaccine approach to protect against multiple dangerous tick-borne viruses from the flavivirus family. The vaccine uses “ancestral antigens” that provide immunity against both known and emerging viruses. This strategy targets a wide range of pathogens with a single formulation, offering a major step forward over traditional vaccines. It represents a promising tool for global health defense against diseases that currently lack effective prevention.
Tick-borne flaviviruses (TBFs) cause severe neurological disease and are responsible for significant illness and death worldwide. Existing vaccines are either unavailable, narrowly targeted, or require multiple booster doses, leaving populations vulnerable. The CSU technology addresses this gap by introducing a broadly protective vaccine platform that works across multiple virus strains. This innovation is particularly important as climate change and expanding tick habitats are increasing the geographic spread of these diseases.
This technology focuses on creating a cross-protective vaccine against tick-borne flaviviruses by reconstructing the common ancestors of viral proteins. Using maximum likelihood modeling, researchers designed ancestral envelope (E) and non-structural (NS1) proteins that represent the evolutionary “roots” of multiple related viruses. By expressing these proteins in established vaccine platforms (the technology stimulates antibody-mediated responses).
Preclinical data show that mice vaccinated with the Sindbis constructs develop a strong neutralizing antibodies and survive otherwise lethal virus challenges. Importantly, this strategy provides immunity not just to specific strains like tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) or Powassan virus (POWV) but also offers broad protection across the tick-borne flaviviruses. Unlike current strain-specific vaccines, the CSU approach anticipates future viral threats of related tick-borne flaviviruses by targeting their common evolutionary origins.
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TRL: 5
US Provisional Patent
Greg Ebel
Brian Geiss
Chasity Trammell
Steve Foster
Steve.Foster@colostate.edu
970-491-7100