A universal flu vaccine could soon be tested on human volunteers following the success of animal studies, it was announced yesterday.
US researchers reported their progress in the journal Science.
The vaccine is designed to trigger the creation of broadly neutralising antibodies in the immune system – capable of targeting common features of the flu virus.
The researchers say they have successfully targeted hemagglutinin, a protein on the surface of the influenza virus.
The protein plays a key role in enabling the virus to enter cells.
Proposed immunogens have been tested in rodent and primate subjects. This showed the animals producing antibodies able to bind to the proteins in many kinds of flu, including the H5N1 virus known as bird flu.
Researcher Professor Ian Wilson, of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA, said the next step was to test the immunogen on human volunteers.
He said: "If the body can make an immune response against the hemagglutinin stem, it’s difficult for the virus to escape.
"This study shows that we’re moving in the right direction for a universal flu vaccine."
A stable trimeric influenza hemagglutinin stem as a broadly protective immunogen. Science 24 August 2015 [abstract]
Leave a Reply