According to an experimental study published in Frontiers in Immunology, MV130 confers protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and enhances the response of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

These results have been obtained in a study coordinated by researchers Carlos del Fresno, from the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Paz (IdiPAZ), Juan García Arriaza and Mariano Esteban from the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and David Sancho, from the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), with the collaboration of INMUNOTEK.

MV130 is an inactivated bacteria preparation developed by INMUNOTEK with TIbV (trained immunity-based vaccine) characteristics. Trained (innate) immunity confers non-specific protection against different pathogens, including viruses, as has recently been demonstrated in children wheezing attacks, mostly associated with viral infections.

This study shows that pretreatment with MV130 protects susceptible K18-hACE2 mice from SARS-CoV-2 infection. This would confirm the suggested potential for MV130 as a short-term strategy prior to the advent of specific vaccines. This study also demonstrates that MV130 can enhance the immunogenicity of  vaccines against COVID-19, favoring the production of IgA antibodies and cellular specific immune responses to candidate vaccines, which is consistent with the proposed adjuvant activity of TIbVs.

Taken together, the study provides evidence of the important role that trained innate cells can play against infection by this virus, and how such training can be harnessed to improve the response to specific vaccines.

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