Nanoparticle Treatment Prevents Herpes Infection in Mouse Model

A novel type of nanoparticle was shown to effectively prevent infection by herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), the virus that causes chronic genital herpes.

Despite HSV-2 being one of the most common human viruses and causing serious eye infections in newborns and immunocompromised patients as well as genital herpes, virtually all efforts to develop an effective vaccine have failed.


Investigators at the University of Illinois (Chicago, USA) and their colleagues at the University of Kiel (Germany) adopted a unique nanoparticle-based approach for preventing HSV-2 infection.

They developed a new type of zinc-oxide tetrapod-shaped nanoparticle, which they called ZOTEN. These particles have negatively charged surfaces that attract the HSV-2 virus, which has positively charged proteins on its outer envelope. The ZOTEN nanoparticles were synthesized using technology developed by material scientists at Kiel University and are protected under a joint patent with the University of Illinois.

The investigators reported in the April 27, 2016, online edition of the Journal of Immunology that when used intravaginally as a microbicide, ZOTEN was an effective suppressor of HSV-2 genital infection in female BALB/c mice. The strong HSV-2 trapping ability of ZOTEN significantly reduced the clinical signs of vaginal infection and effectively decreased animal mortality. In parallel, ZOTEN promoted the presentation of bound HSV-2 virions to mucosal APCs (antigen-presenting cells), which enhanced T-cell–mediated and antibody-mediated responses to the infection, and thereby suppressed reinfection.

"It is very clear that ZOTEN facilitates the development of immunity by holding the virus and letting the dendritic cells get to it," said senior author Dr. Deepak Shukla, professor of ophthalmology, microbiology, and immunology in the University of Illinois. "We call the virus-trapping nanoparticle a microbivac, because it possesses both microbicidal and vaccine-like properties. It is a totally novel approach to developing a vaccine against herpes, and it could potentially also work for HIV and other viruses."

Related Links:
University of Illinois
University of Kiel