A team of UNM researchers in collaboration with the National Institute of Health have developed a vaccine to treat high cholesterol.
The vaccine targets a molecule called PCSK9, a protein involved in cholesterol metabolism, according to a UNM press release.
The vaccine is a cost-effective alternative for other drugs and could provide a widely applicable mode of treatment for high cholesterol control and cardiovascular diseases, according to the statement.
The study, “A Cholesterol-Lowering VLP Vaccine that Targets PCSK9,” was recently published in the journal Vaccine by Dr. Bryce Chackerian, professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at UNM; Erin Crossey, an MD/Ph.D. student at UNM; and Drs. Alan Remaley, John Schiller and Marcelo Amar at NIH.
The vaccine uses a VLP (virus-like particle) technology developed by Chackerian and his UNM co-inventors as an immunogenic carrier of an antigenic PCSK9 peptide, according to the release.
VLP’s are viruses that have had their DNA removed so that they retain their external structure for antigen display but are unable to replicate; they can induce an immune response without causing infection, the researchers said in the press release.
“We believe that this vaccine could lead to a widely applicable approach for controlling hypercholesteremia and cardiovascular disease,” Chackerian said.
The vaccine technology has the potential for successful commercialization and could be an entirely new and effective way of treating diseases that are a result of untreated high cholesterol, the statement quoted STC CEO Lisa Kuuttila.
