For the first time, U. Oklahoma researchers have discovered a way to create a vaccine using a protein that activates a distinct part of the immune system.

The OU Health Sciences Center research has potential treatment and prevention applications for cancer, tuberculosis, HIV and several other viral diseases, according to a press release from the HSC.

“No one has ever done this with a T-cell vaccine, so we’re learning; but now we are starting to get some traction. We are finding that a T-cell vaccine can work,” said William Hildebrand, the lead researcher on the project.

Hildebrand and his research team have been working with the body’s alarm system to learn how cells alert the immune system that something is wrong. The goal is to create viable targets for vaccines that activate T-cells in the immune system, said Hildebrand, microbiology and immunology professor.

T-cells are responsible for killing virus-infected cells in the body. T-cells also kill cells that become cancerous. Some vaccines such as the smallpox vaccine activate T-cells, but this occurs inadvertently. Until now, vaccines have focused on generating antibodies to keep people from getting sick, according to the release.

While many of these antibody (B-cell) vaccines work well, the dependence on antibodies has prompted some viruses to skirt antibody immunity, making vaccines less effective or not effective at all for some viruses. With a T-cell vaccine, researchers would be able to activate another arm of the immune system to target a specific virus in the body and kill it.

To develop the vaccine, Hildebrand began by determining how the immune system distinguishes between a virus-infected or cancerous cell and a healthy cell.

Researchers started with West Nile virus since it doesn’t change like the flu or develop resistance like cancer or HIV. After developing the target, researchers at the HSC worked with colleagues at Washington U. in St. Louis to create a vaccine, the release stated.

The process is now being repeated for targets and vaccines in other areas, such as cancer, where activating T-cells can be difficult.

“Now that we have demonstrated the feasibility of developing a T-cell-specific vaccine, we intend to use the same process to discover other reliable targets, validate them and develop additional vaccines,” Hildebrand said.