"Killer T-cells" spark the hope of a universal flu vaccine

PARIS – Scientists said on Monday they have discovered immune cells that can fight any known flu virus in what has been described as an "extraordinary breakthrough" that could lead to a universal vaccine in a single vaccine against the deadly disease.

Influenza epidemics, mostly seasonal, kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Due to the mutation of its strains, the vaccine formulas need to be regularly updated and currently offer only limited protection.

Australian researchers have stated that "killer T cells" – found in more than half of the world's population – have shown in tests that they are effective against all common flu varieties.

This means that the cells could potentially be used to develop a global influenza vaccine that would not need to be changed every year and even be effective in people who do not have them naturally.

"Influenza viruses continually mutate to escape the recognition of our immune system, and they are extremely diverse, making it almost impossible to predict and vaccinate against the strain that will cause the next influenza pandemic," said Marios Koutsakos. , researcher at the University of Melbourne. Doherty Institute.

T cells are a type of white blood cell that circulates in the body looking for abnormalities and infections. They are essential for human immunity against a multitude of invasive bacteria and viruses.

"Killer" T cells are unique in that they can directly target and kill other infected cells.

Koutsakos and his colleagues used mbad spectrometry – a scanning technique that separates molecules according to their mbad – to identify the parts of the virus that are shared by all strains of the flu, and realized that killer T cells could effectively combat variations in influenza A, B, and viruses. C.

The flu is particularly dangerous for the elderly, children and those with compromised immune systems, as well as for certain ethnic groups who have never developed an immune response to the disease.

The team originally researched their patented discovery, and researchers said they hoped it would allow them to develop a universal flu vaccine "to reduce the impact of pandemic influenza and seasonal around the world ".