At a Glance
- Flu vaccines have to be designed each year to target specific strains of the virus.
- Researchers say a newly found antibody could change that.
- Tens of thousands of people die from the flu each year in the U.S.
Each year, scientists play a bit of a guessing game to develop a flu vaccine that will protect against the worst strains of influenza.
But a new discovery could change that.
A team of researchers has identified a previously unknown antibody that protects mice against a wide range of potentially deadly strains of influenza. The study, conducted by a partnership that included Scripps Research and detailed in a paper published in the journal Science, could lead to a single, more reliable flu vaccine that could be used for either treatment or prevention.
“There are many strains of influenza virus that circulate so every year we have to design and produce a new vaccine to match the most common strains of that year,” study co-author Ali Ellebedy, an assistant professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University, said in a press release from Scripps. “Now imagine if we could have one vaccine that protected against all influenza strains, including human, swine and other highly lethal avian influenza viruses. This antibody could be the key to design of a truly universal vaccine.”
(MORE: Flu Vaccine May Not Be Best Match for Viruses Expected This Influenza Season, Expert Says)
The Centers for Disease Control reports that as many as 61,000 people died in the U.S. from the flu last winter. More than 80,000 people died during the 2017 to 2018 flu season, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The CDC says that year was considered an especially devastating season because the vaccine was only 40% effective.
Research like that done by Ellebedy and his counterparts may help prevent such deadly flu infections.
The newly discovered antibody binds to a protein called neuraminidase. The protein, located on the surface of the virus, is critical to the way flu replicates in the body, according to the press release. Drugs like Tamiflu work by inactivating neuraminidase, but the protein's form varies among different flu strains. Also, some strains are becoming drug-resistant.
(MORE: The Latest on Flu Season)
The research uncovered at least three antibodies that bind to neuraminidase, but found that one in particular was most effective at blocking neuraminidase activity in laboratory tests on mice.
“All the mice survived, even if they were given the antibody 72 hours after infection. They definitely got sick and lost weight, but we still saved them. It was remarkable. It made us think that you might be able to use this antibody in an intensive care scenario when you have someone sick with flu and it’s too late to use Tamiflu," ,” Ellebedy said.
"Now that we know what a broadly protective antibody to the neuraminidase looks like, we have an alternative approach to start designing novel vaccines that induce antibodies like this. And that could be really important if we are going to figure out how to design a truly universal vaccine.”
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