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An experimental vaccine developed by NIH and GlaxoSmithKline has worked successfully on humans during first phase clinical trials.

According to NBC News, 20 volunteers who received the vaccine produced antibodies within four weeks of receiving it, without experiencing any side effects. The vaccine is being tested at University of Maryland. Trial's volunteers were aged between 18 and 15.

During the trial, 10 volunteers were given a low intramuscular dose of the vaccine while the rest were given higher dose. Researchers found that all volunteers had developed Ebola antibodies with higher antibody concentrations seen in those who received higher doses of the vaccine.

The NIH/GSK vaccine does not contain Ebola virus in whole but contains genetic bits from two strains - Sudan and Zaire. A carrier virus, chimpanzee-derived adenovirus 3, was used to deliver the DNA bits into the body.

Besides noting immune response, researchers also found that two of the volunteers in the low dose group and seven in the high dose group generated a specific T-cell response. T-cells, particularly CD8 T cells, are crucial immune system components required for the body to fight Ebola infections, Business Standard reported.

"We know from previous studies in non-human primates that CD8 T cells played a crucial role in protecting animals that had been vaccinated with this NIAID/GSK vaccine and then exposed to otherwise lethal amounts of Ebola virus. The size and quality of the CD8 T cell response we saw in this trial are similar to that observed in non-human primates vaccinated with the candidate vaccine," said the trial's principal investigator Julie E. Ledgerwood, in a press release.

"Based on these positive results from the first human trial of this candidate vaccine, we are continuing our accelerated plan for larger trials to determine if the vaccine is efficacious in preventing Ebola infections," said NIAID Director Anthony S Fauci.

The trial's results were published online in New England Journal of Medicine.