Developing a vaccine for the zombie drug xylazine Scripps Research chemical biologists design an early proof-of-concept vaccine that could lead to the first effective treatment of xylazine overdose in people.
April 03, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Xylazine is an FDA-approved sedative and pain reliever for use in animals, but it has severe adverse effects when used in humans. It is now illicitly being added to opioids, like fentanyl and heroin, as well as cocaine leading to a sharp rise in overdose deaths.
Now, Scripps Research chemical biologists have developed a vaccine to block the effects of xylazine's toxicity. The vaccine works by training the immune system to attack the drug, which is described in a new paper published in Chemical Communications on April 1, 2024.
We demonstrated that a vaccine can reverse the symptoms of a xylazine overdose in rodents, says study senior author Kim D. Janda, PhD, the Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research. There is currently no remedy for xylazine poisoning other than supportive care, thus, we believe our research efforts and the data we have provided will pave the way for an effective treatment in humans.
The rapid increase in lethal drug overdoses attributed to xylazine combined with fentanyl prompted the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to declare this combination an emerging threat to the United States. Xylazine intoxication presents similarly to opioid overdose, causing respiratory and central nervous system depression, and it can heighten the effects of opioids. However, naloxone typically administered to reverse the effects of opioids does not tackle the impact of xylazine, highlighting the need for effective measures to treat acute toxicity caused by xylazine.
Researchers suspect xylazine works by reducing blood flow to the brain, among other areas of the body. The drug also causes non-healing skin lesions and wounds, often located on the forearms and lower legs, that can require amputation in some cases giving it the nickname zombie drug.
Although no treatment currently exists, targeted vaccines may offer a solution. Vaccines nudge the immune system to create antibodies to fend off invaders. Antibodies can target viruses, bacteria and toxins. However, sometimes molecules are too small to initiate an immune response, as is the case with xylazine. So, to circumvent this problem, the researchers created a vaccine using a design principle that Janda pioneered, which relies on pairing the drug molecule (called a hapten) with a larger carrier molecule (a protein) and an adjuvant.
In this study, the scientists combined a xylazine hapten with multiple different protein types, to see which combination would create a robust immune response against xylazine. The team tested three vaccine formulations (termed TT, KLH and CRM197, based on the protein involved) to see which vaccine cocktail could help rodents after being challenged with xylazine. One of the three vaccines (TT) significantly increased movement in mice given xylazine after 10 minutes, while two of the three vaccines (TT and KLH) led to an improvement in breathing.
The scientists also examined how these vaccines would limit xylazine blood brain barrier, (BBB) permeation, a filtering mechanism that scrutinizes drug penetration. When xylazine was injected, it immediately crossed into the brain to bind with receptors. Antibodies typically cannot navigate the BBB; however, two of the three vaccines (TT and KLH) showed a strong ability to stop xylazine from reaching its receptors in the brain, limiting its detrimental effects.
A provisional patent has been filed on the research. In the future, his team will build off this work to create a bifunctional antibody that will reverse both fentanyl and xylazine's toxicity simultaneously, something that naloxone cannot do.
A monoclonal antibody treatment could be given in tandem with the vaccine to provide both immediate and long-term protection from both opioid substance use disorders as well as opioid-xylazine overdoses, says Janda. This strategy could make a significant impact on the opioid epidemic.
Evaluation of a Hapten Conjugate Vaccine Against the Zombie Drug' Xylazine was co-authored by Mingliang Lin, Lisa M. Eubanks, Bin Zhou, and Kim D. Janda, all of Scripps Research.
Funding for the study was provided by the Shadek family and Pearson Foundation.
Chemistry Janda, Kim
Most recent headlines
09/12/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced that it has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: ...
09/11/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced three new members of its executive team. Tara Bryant joins as Chi...
22/10/2024
Digital Domain Relaunches Advertising Experiences Group With New Hires
Brie Clayton October 22, 2024
0 Comments
Digital Domain, a pioneer in visual ef...
22/10/2024
Hiroshi Okuyama Film My Sunshine Shot and Graded Using Blackmagic Design Product...
22/10/2024
InnovateUK and EU Approve £1.2 Million in Funding for Immersive Technology from ...
22/10/2024
Lauv Inspires Berklee Students with Authenticity and Chart-Topping Success Pop sensation Lauv shares insights on creativity, vulnerability, and overcoming the...
22/10/2024
Applications Open for Next Jazz Legacy 2025 Cohort Backed by a $1.25 million Mellon Foundation grant, the initiative from New Music USA and the Berklee Instit...
22/10/2024
This Rihanna Song Has Secret' '80s Easter Eggs The SOS songwriter revealed a nostalgic twist to the lyrics, and it's going viral on TikTok.
By...
22/10/2024
The CTO Office has been tasked with the gradual introduction and integration of new technologies to improve the efficiency, reach and quality of media productio...
22/10/2024
SOUTHPORT, Conn. and NEW YORK Diamond Sports Group and the online gaming company FanDuel have announced a wide-ranging long-term commercial partnership that wil...
22/10/2024
New research indicates that Roku remains the top connected TV (CTV) streaming device in North America, with a 37% share of the open programmatic ads sold on spe...
22/10/2024
The newly released S&P Global Market Intelligence Radio & TV Annual Outlook from Kagan finds some good news in this years ad-revenue outlook and some not-so-goo...
22/10/2024
BRISTOL, Conn. and PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. TGL, the new tech-infused golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Sports in partnership with...
22/10/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters has filed a letter with the FCC expressing concerns about the impact the proposed merger between SES a...
22/10/2024
Michael Malone, a long-time reporter, editor and content director at Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News and NextTV, died Saturday (Oct. 19) at Memorial Sloan...
22/10/2024
Educational Cosmetic Procedure Live Streams Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton October 21, 2024
0 Comments
Elijah Zane Echeveste, an independen...
22/10/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards reveals 2024 nominees
Brie Clayton October 21, 2024
0 Comments
Jury selects 25 nominees across six categories - winners to be ...
22/10/2024
Title Rebuild with the Boris FX Suite: Kraven The Hunter
Brie Clayton October 21, 2024
0 Comments
Epic 3D Title Rebuild: Kraven The Hunter Title Anima...
22/10/2024
AI chatbots use generative AI to provide responses based on a single interaction. A person makes a query and the chatbot uses natural language processing to rep...
22/10/2024
Brand new series Maddie Triggs premieres on Monday 21st October at 11.10am on RT jr. 15 episodes will drop on RT Player at the same time.
The series follows ...
22/10/2024
At ROSCon in Odense, one of Denmark's oldest cities and a hub of automation,...
21/10/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: Hanna Avqilin, Shiori Ito, and Ema Ryan Yamazaki attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Black Box Diaries premiere at Prospector...
21/10/2024
NITV announces commissioning team appointments
21 October, 2024
Media releases
NITV welcomes Dena Curtis as Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production...
21/10/2024
Osher G nsberg: A World of Pain premieres Thursday 21 November on SBS and SBS On...
21/10/2024
BERGEN, Norway Vizrt, a provider of real-time graphics and live production solutions for content creators, has named Vanessa Walmsley as chief commercial office...
21/10/2024
TYSONS, Va. Tegna has named Alex Tolston as senior vice president and chief legal officer. He'll also serve on the station group's leadership team, repo...
21/10/2024
Witbe, a worldwide leader in automated testing and monitoring technology for video service providers, today announced that the company is expanding its presence...
21/10/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced its collaboration with Samsung TV Plus and news pu...
21/10/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that Skillshare has chosen Amagi to be its partner...
21/10/2024
Broadcast India Show 2024 Preview
Oct. 17-19
Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai
Booth #I8
At Broadcast India Show 2024 in Booth #I8, Black Box will showca...
21/10/2024
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions, has introduced the PEC 1464, a 12G-SDI, HDMI H.264/265 Streamer and Recorder. As the company'...
21/10/2024
XL8, a leading deep-tech startup specializing in AI-powered machine translation technology, today announces the launch of its updated EventCAT subscription pack...
21/10/2024
Vizrt, the leader in real-time graphics and live production solutions for content creators, today announces the appointment of Vanessa Walmsley as its Chief Com...
21/10/2024
Week 1 of the RE:Vision Effects 2024 Raffle at Creative Cow!
Brie Clayton October 21, 2024
0 Comments
Two chances to win a RE:Vision Effects plug-in s...
21/10/2024
CBS has responded to attacks against what critics have labeled the network's news distortion in editing its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, t...
21/10/2024
The appointment aims to further align the companys commercial teams, delivering greater value to customers, end users and partners, said Vizrt
By Matthew Corri...
21/10/2024
The NVIDIA AI Summit India, taking place October 23-25 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, will bring together the brightest minds to explore how Indi...
21/10/2024
NVIDIA is expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to support global AI startups across industries - with an initial focus on healthcare and life sciences com...
21/10/2024
Ahead of a visit to the hospital for a surgical procedure, patients often have plenty of questions about what to expect - and can be plenty nervous.
To help mi...
21/10/2024
21 Oct 2024
Nasdaq Confirms VEON's Full Compliance Following its 2023 20-F Filing Amsterdam and Dubai, 21 October 2024: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON; Euronext A...
21/10/2024
21 Oct 2024
VEON Commences its Delisting from Euronext Amsterdam to Consolidate...
21/10/2024
21 Oct 2024
VEON Welcomes Letter from its Shareholder Shah Capital, Reiterates ...
21/10/2024
Part of Pop Culture, Gaming Music Is More than Soundtracks for Videogames Soundtracks are streamed millions of times By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Monday, Octo...
21/10/2024
Meet Me in St. Louis: St. Louis Blues Partner With 4th Floor Creative, Germany&#...
21/10/2024
Sports Broadcasting in Europe: What Has Been Learned in Busy 2024 and What's...
21/10/2024
NBA Expands Creator Program; Partners with WSC Sports to Feed Content Archive an...
21/10/2024
Rohde & Schwarz supplies communications and radar electronic support measures fo...
21/10/2024
Back to All News
900 Days Without Anabel: The Case That Became the Longest Kidn...
21/10/2024
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Result...
Developing a vaccine for the zombie drug xylazine Scripps Research chemical biologists design an early proof-of-concept vaccine that could lead to the first effective treatment of xylazine overdose in people. 
