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Media Advisory
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The discovery by NIAID-funded researchers could facilitate the quest for the universal flu vaccine.
What
The ever-changing "head" of an influenza virus protein has an unexpected Achilles heel, report scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health . The team has discovered and characterized the structure of a natural human antibody that recognizes and disrupts a portion of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein that the virus uses to enter and infect cells. The investigators determined that the antibody, FluA-20, bound tightly to an area of the globular head of the HA protein that was only very briefly accessible to antibody attacks. The site was not to be vulnerable to such a strike.
James E. Crowe, Jr., MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn., And Ian A. Wilson, D.Phil., Of the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, have directed the. team. They isolated the FluA-20 antibody from a person who had received many immunizations against influenza. In a series of experiments, they showed that FluA-20 could "penetrate" into an otherwise inaccessible part of the HA trimer molecule and cause it to collapse, thus preventing the spread of the cell virus into the cell. This discovery was a surprise because this region of trimer HA was considered stable and inaccessible to antibodies. In addition, this region – unlike the rest of the HA head – varies little from one strain to another. In theory, antibody-based therapies directed against this specific region would be effective against many strains of the influenza A virus. Similarly, vaccines designed to produce antibodies directed against this target could offer a lasting protection against any strain of influenza, potentially eliminating the need for annual vaccination against seasonal flu.
In studies in mice, FluA-20 prevented infection or disease when animals were exposed to four different subtypes of influenza A viruses causing disease in humans. The two viruses used in the experiments, H1N1 and H5N1, belong to group 1, while the other two, H3N2 and H7N9, belong to group 2. Current influenza vaccines must contain viral components belonging to both subtypes in order to produce corresponding antibodies. A single vaccine capable of generating strong antibodies against members of both groups could provide extended multi-year protection against influenza.
article
S Bangaru et al. A site of vulnerability on the trimer interface of the main domain of influenza hemagglutinin. Cell DOI: 10.1016 / j.cell.2019.04.011 (2019).
who
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is available to discuss this research.
Contact
To schedule interviews, please contact Anne A. Oplinger at (301) 402-1663, [email protected].
This research was funded in part by the NIH U19 AI117905, R56 AI127371 and P01 AI097092 grants from NIAID, P41 GM103393 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and UL1 TR002243 from the National Center for the Advancement of Science. translational, as well as through contracts with the NIH. HHSN272201400024C, HHSN272201400008C and HHSN27220170041I.
This availability of media describes basic research. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is fundamental to advancing new and improved methods of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Science is an unpredictable and progressive process – every breakthrough in research builds on past discoveries, often unexpectedly. Most clinical progress would not be possible without the knowledge of basic fundamental research.
NIAID conducts and supports research – at NIH, in the United States, and around the world – to investigate the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases and to develop better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat these diseases. NIAID press releases, fact sheets and other documents are available on the NIAID website.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
The NIH, the country's medical research agency, has 27 institutes and centers and is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the lead federal agency that leads and supports basic, clinical and translational medical research. She studies causes, treatments and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information on NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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