Injecting a gene that encodes an anti-nicotine antibody into mice blocks the addictive chemical from entering the brain.
Ronald Crystal at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and his team injected mice with a vaccine containing the gene. Viruses in the vaccine shuttled the gene to the liver. Once there, liver cells generated the antibodies, which bind to nicotine in the blood and prevent it from crossing the blood–brain barrier.
Mice that were administered the vaccine and then nicotine had only 15% as much brain nicotine as unvaccinated animals. Moreover, vaccinated mice did not show the increased blood pressure and heart rate that unvaccinated mice experienced after receiving nicotine.
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Quit smoking with a shot. Nature 487, 8 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/487008b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/487008b
