Covid-19 vaccine: more effective injections thanks to suction cups?

India benefits from a vaccine against Covid-19 – called ZyCoV-D – with innovative technology: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The principle : “injecting a piece of DNA into human cells”, Which turn into RNA (ribonucleic acid)“capable of inducing the production of the Spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus“, Explain the Pasteur Institute. This protein “will then be recognized by the immune system, which will for example make antibodies to neutralize it and thus prevent infection when it occurs”. A technique that can be even more effective if the injection is performed with a suction cup system, according to a new study published on November 5 in the journal Science Advances.

Covid vaccine: “strong immune responses” thanks to suction cups

South Korean and American researchers conducted tests on rats. They injected them with a DNA vaccine against Covid-19 using a moderate negative pressure, that is to say a small device that sucks the skin in the manner of the suction cups used in cupping therapy. This technique, which is found in traditional Chinese medicine, allows athletes to recover better after exercise by stimulating the body. In France, the High Authority of Health (HAS) explains that negative pressure treatment systems (NPWT) are considered “adjuvants for the healing of certain surgical wounds at high risk of complications or of certain chronic wounds that do not heal in first intention”.

Result: from “strong immune responses”Were induced with this method, with a“significant antibody production”. This greater efficiency can be explained by a better absorption of DNA molecules by the skin cells thanks to a phenomenon of tension and relaxation at the injection site.

Covid vaccine: a technique that could benefit RNA vaccines?

According to the authors of the study, this technique is “easy to use, cost effective and can be developed for laboratory or clinical applications, for nucleic acid based therapies and vaccines”. This suggests that these results could be found with RNA vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna. Next step: clinical trials in humans, as part of phase II of the study.