Universal flu vaccine to provide comprehensive protection

A US research team presents a new flu vaccine that aims to provide more comprehensive protection against the influenza virus. According to a recent study, universal vaccines have the potential to significantly improve immune protection against influenza.

Researchers from Georgia State University report in the journal “biomaterialsis a new influenza vaccine designed to induce a broad immune response against influenza viruses of various lineages, thereby providing sustained immune protection against influenza.

Influenza B is responsible for a quarter of all clinical cases of infection

According to the research team, type B influenza viruses were responsible for about a quarter of all infectious diseases that had to be treated in a hospital in the decades before the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus appeared.

Currently available vaccines against influenza have to be adapted each year to the major strains of the virus and therefore vary in effectiveness. Therefore a vaccine that is equally effective against all influenza viruses will be of great importance to public health.

Flu vaccines target changing parts of the virus

As the Georgia State University Working Group explains, previous flu vaccines have targeted an often evolving part of the influenza virus called the HA head. For this reason, seasonal vaccines against influenza have to be continually improved.

To overcome this limitation, the team has now developed a vaccine that uses a protected part of the virus to create adequate and widespread cross-protection against various influenza strains.

Potential for a universal influenza vaccine

“In this study, we generated structure-stable HA stalk antigens from influenza B and fabricated protein nanoparticles as universal influenza B vaccine candidates,” said study lead author Dr. How Baozhong Wang Vaccine Works.

“We have found that layered protein nanoparticles containing structure-bound stable antigens have potential for a universal influenza vaccine with improved immune protection and range,” confirms the scientist.

The nanoparticle vaccine has already been successfully tested in human cell cultures and in mice. In both cases, vaccination proved to be safe, biocompatible, biodegradable and highly immunogenic.

Nanoparticle vaccine against influenza A and B in plan

“Our next goal is to combine the influenza A nanoparticles from our earlier study with the influenza B nanoparticles produced and tested here to create a multicomponent universal influenza nanoparticle vaccine against both influenza A and influenza B.” ‘Wang describes the next steps. (VB)