The science post of the weekend of the day is interested in research that is being carried out in the United States to succeed in developing vaccines that we would eat. Details from Mathilde Fontez, editor-in-chief of the scientific magazine Epsiloon.
franceinfo: Vaccines would be integrated into vegetables?
This is research that stems from the progress that has been made thanks to the Covid. As we know, vaccines were developed very quickly: just 5 days after the sequencing of the virus, a vaccine prototype was already produced, thanks to RNA technology. Well, it is this technology that researchers from a team from the University of California are trying to hijack, to insert it into plants…
The idea is to grow vaccines?
It’s crazy but yes, that’s it. American researchers realized that these vaccines could be inserted into plant cells. The key is chloroplasts: small organs in plant cells that convert sunlight into energy the plant can use.
These chloroplasts can accommodate genes that are not naturally part of the plant: we could therefore in theory insert an RNA vaccine there, and let it multiply as the plant grows. We would have a kind of small live vaccine factory, which we would then just have to eat to protect ourselves from a disease.
Have the researchers done any tests?
They begin. They have just received a grant to test the concept. They chose lettuce and spinach to start their research. The interest that this new type of vaccine could have is not only to spare us injections. It is above all to solve the logistical problems of RNA vaccines. They must be kept at very low temperatures, as we know, between -90 and -15 degrees. This requires a heavy cold chain.
But there are still many challenges before we get there. The American team is currently working on finding the right technique to insert the vaccine into the plant cell. You have to protect it in an envelope – they are experimenting with nanoparticles.
And then there will be the psychological challenge?
Yes, an injection is already sometimes difficult to accept. So a vaccine that takes the form of a plate of salad can be a little scary.