Researchers test mRNA technology for universal flu vaccine

Natalie Portman
By Natalie Portman 4 Min Read
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By Nancy Lapid

(RockedBuzz via Reuters) – An experimental vaccine has provided broad protection against all 20 influenza A and B virus subtypes known in initial tests in mice and ferrets, potentially paving the way for a universal flu vaccine that could help prevent future pandemics, according to a US study released on Thursday.

The two-dose vaccine uses the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used in the COVID-19 injections developed by Pfizer with BioNTech and by Moderna. It delivers tiny lipid particles containing mRNA instructions for cells to make replicas of the so-called haemagglutinin proteins that appear on the surfaces of the flu virus.

A universal vaccine wouldn’t mean the end of flu seasons, but it would replace the guesswork that goes into developing annual injections months before flu season each year.

“The idea here is to have a vaccine that gives people a baseline immune memory level for different flu strains, so that there will be a lot less sickness and deaths when the next flu pandemic happens,” said the leader of the poll. study Scott Hensley of the Perelman School. of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania said in a statement.

Unlike standard flu vaccines that deliver one or two versions of hemagglutinin, the experimental vaccine includes 20 different types in hopes of making the immune system recognize any flu virus it may encounter in the future.

In laboratory experiments, the immune system of vaccinated animals recognized the hemagglutinin protein and defended itself against 18 different strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B. The vaccine-induced antibody levels remained unchanged for at least four months, according to a report published in the journal Science.

The vaccine also reduced signs of illness and protected from death when the ferrets were exposed to a different type of flu not in the vaccine, the researchers said.

Moderna and Pfizer both have mRNA flu vaccines in late-stage human trials, and GSK and partner CureVac are testing an mRNA flu vaccine in an early-stage safety trial in humans. These vaccines are designed to deal with only four recently circulating flu strains, but could theoretically be replaced every year.

The universal flu vaccine, if successful in human trials, would not necessarily prevent infection. The goal is to provide lasting protection against serious illness and death, Hensley said.

Questions remain about how to judge efficacy and potential regulatory requirements for a vaccine against possible future viruses that are not currently in circulation, wrote Alyson Kelvin and Darryl Falzarano of the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, in a commentary published with the study.

While promising results with the new vaccine “suggest a protective ability against all influenza virus subtypes, we cannot be sure until clinical trials in volunteers are completed,” Adolfo García-Sastrem, director of the Institute for Global Health and Emerging Pathogens at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, reads a statement.

(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Christine Soares and Bill Berkrot)

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