Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Virologist and Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Aluicia Anita Artarini explains the mass production process the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is a form of vaccine development that is considered new (novel technology), because its development uses the Adenovirus platform or engineering the virus to become a vaccine to infect other viruses.
“What is interesting here is the process of engineering another virus so that it can become a vaccine for other viral infections,” said Anita during a virtual discussion on the manufacture of the Covid-19 vaccine, Monday (29/3).
He explained that the human body has a recipe, the recipe is stored in genetic material called DNA. In the human body it is DNA that determines a human being has straight or or curly hair. This is considered the same when making adenovirus.
“So this adenovirus has genetic information that becomes the recipe for how to make the adenovirus,” he said.
Anita said the development carried out by the Oxford team was a common method used by various research teams using adenovirus as a technology platform for the Corona virus vaccine.
He said that in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the development team engineered the recipe, which initially contained two adenoviruses which were then inserted with genetic material that coded the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“This is DNA, the term can be cut and spliced, like a rubber band, we open it and insert the other material,” he said.
“The point is that the viral genome is engineered by inserting information that makes spike proteins. In order to obtain the adenovirus genome or DNA that already carries information on how to make spike proteins,” he added.
So, he said, the adenovirus genome or adenovirus DNA is obtained, which already carries information on how to make the spike protein.
The combined DNA, he said, used genetic engineering. Then the DNA is stored in a bacterium called e.coli. However, these bacteria only function to copy the recipe and cannot make adenovirus.
Because of the adenovirus, according to him, it can only be made in cells called HEK 293 cells (mammalian cells), which if the recipe is inserted into HEK 293 cells then it can produce adenoviruses.
“Nah so the genetic material stored in e.coli is reproduced by e.coli and then we break down the e.coli cells so that we can take the recipe again and put it in a cell called HEC 293, “he explained.
Mammalian Cells and Trypsin in Vaccines
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