How Does It Work? | Adenovirus Vaccines

This week, we delve into Adenovirus Vaccines as part of our “How Does It Work?” 3D MoA animation series examining biotech topics on a molecular level.

In 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic, but not all viruses are bad news.

Adenoviruses are a family of viruses that can be used in vaccines to give us powerful protection against infectious diseases. In your lifetime, you’ve probably encountered adenoviruses that cause cold or flu-like symptoms. In vaccines, adenovirus DNA is modified to remove its harmful genes and a gene to express an antigen such as a viral protein is added.

Proteins on the adenovirus surface help it to enter your cells where the viral protein gene is transcribed into mRNA. The mRNA is then translated into antigenic viral protein by ribosomes. This stimulates your immune cells to produce antibodies that help to combat a real infection.

The stability of adenoviruses is helping us to vaccinate patients in a wide range of areas, helping to limit the spread of serious disease.