University of Georgia
Researchers at the
University of Georgia and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi,
announced today the development of a vaccine that protects against multiple
strains of both seasonal and pandemic H1N1 influenza in mouse models. They
published their findings recently in the Journal of Virology.
"One of the
problems with current influenza vaccines is that we have to make predictions
about which virus strains will be most prevalent every year and build our
vaccines around those predictions," said Ted Ross, director of UGA's
Center for Vaccines and Immunology and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent
Scholar in Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
"What we have developed is a vaccine that protects against multiple different strains of H1N1 virus at once, so we might be able to one day replace the current standard of care with this more broadly cross-protective vaccine."
The H1N1 influenza
virus caused a worldwide pandemic in 2009. When it was first detected, it was
called swine flu because the virus was similar to those found in pigs, but the
virus now circulates as a seasonal form of influenza.
Using a technique
called Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive Antigen, or COBRA, UGA
researchers Donald Carter, Christopher Darby and Bradford Lefoley, along with
Ross, created nine prototype synthetic compound vaccines constructed using
genetic sequences from multiple influenza virus strains.
The COBRA vaccines
were designed to recognize H1N1 viruses isolated within the last 100 years, but
many of the experimental vaccines produced immunity against influenza strains
not included in the design.
This means that scientists may be able to produce a
vaccine that not only protects against recognized seasonal and pandemic
influenza strains, but also strains that have yet to be discovered.
Because this vaccine
is generated from the genetic sequences of multiple flu viruses, it may protect
against many strains over several years, Ross said.
That would also allow for
year-round manufacturing of the vaccine, since scientists would not have to
halt production every year to identify the most prevalent strains.
This research is part
of a broader effort to create a universal influenza vaccine, which would
protect against all strains of the virus.
"We still have
some work to do before we get a truly universal flu vaccine," Ross said.
"But the COBRA vaccine we've developed for H1N1 virus subtypes is a major
step in the right direction."
Researchers from UGA
and Sanofi Pasteur, which has a research and development collaboration
agreement with UGA, presented their data on March 30, at the World
Vaccine Congress US 2016 in Washington, D.C.