intelligence to develop a simple and effective alternative to monkeypox vaccines. Researchers at the Biotecnopolo di Siena institution in Italy isolated 12 potent antibodies from the blood of recovered patients and vaccinated individuals, without knowing precisely which viral protein they targeted.
Professor Jason McClellan's team from Texas used the AlphaFold 3 artificial intelligence model, which accurately identified that antibodies interact with the surface of the OPG153 protein, and laboratory experiments confirmed the validity of this finding.
This protein could potentially form the basis of new subunit vaccines, significantly simplifying and reducing production costs. OPG153 antibodies could also be used as drugs to treat patients. The discovery is particularly important for combating smallpox, given the close relationship between the two viruses.
Scientists have dubbed this approach "reverse vaccinology," where research begins with natural antibodies to identify the specific part of the virus they attack. Prototype vaccines have already been developed and have proven effective in trials on mice.
