Targeting three glycoproteins
The new vaccine developed at Penn targets three glycoproteins that are critical to the virus infection mechanism: gC2, gD2, gE2. This contrasts with previous efforts that targeted only gD2. According to Harvey M. Friedman, professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania who helped develop the vaccine, this helps the immune system fight HSV-2 more effectively …show more content…
Dr. Sita Awasthi, lead author of the study, says that if clinical trials on humans are equally successful, the new vaccine could prevent genital herpes from spreading worldwide and also reduce the number of new HIV infections. The greatest impact would be in Africa, the most affected region. Researchers are already in talks with pharmaceutical companies to start the first human trials before the vaccine is, hopefully, unleashed to the general public. The study was published in the journal PLOS