Tag Archives: Hemagglutinin

One time solution- Universal Flu Shot

Posted on February 7, 2016 by | 4 comments

Are you tired of getting vaccinated every flu season? Do you want to be protected but refuse to be poked? Fear no more, the universal flu shot is here (well not yet, but almost).

shots-shots-shotsCredit: WeKnowMemes

Every flu season millions flock to receive that seasons flu shot. Have you ever wondered why you can be vaccinated just once and be protected for life for diseases such as mumps and measles but not the flu?

This can be answered by the characteristics of the flu. There are 3 known types of flu viruses but only 2 types of flu viruses which cause the annual flu. The types that cause the flu are A and B. However, these have many subtypes which change every season because of the genetic changes undergone by the head region. So every season the World Health Organization is given predictions of the strain of flu that scientists believe is circulating that year. Using this information that seasons vaccine is chosen. However, the educated predictions made to create the flu shot fail to be completely effective as they can only protect up to 3-4 strains of that flu. Therefore, it is difficult to create a vaccine every year that is completely successful in protecting us against the annual flu. This is one of the main reasons why developing an all-in-one flu shot is of much interest.

There have been many attempts to try and create the all-in-one flu shot. The difficulty is creating one that can account for the different strains. A recent study, in Nature Science,  has came up with an innovative solution to creating a universal flu shot which may solve the issue that the flu changes every year.

In their approach they focus on the proteins on the outside of the antibody. These proteins are comprised of a head and a stem. The head, in flu vaccines being hemagglutinin (HA), can mutate and it is the reason for the various faces of the flu. However, the stem doesn’t mutate as easily as the HA. The new vaccine uses this information and focuses on the stem instead of the head. If our bodies can recognize the stem and create antibodies according to the stem, it would be able to create antibodies to protect one against all strains of the flu; this would account for all the changes in the HA.

The following video gives a brief overview of how the vaccines work and how this universal flu vaccine would work.

Credit: Discovery News

This study has been proven successful in rats and chimps, however it must be researched and perfected before it can be used in humans. The difficulties of creating an all-in-one shot is the ability of the flu to change itself. Focusing on the stem instead of the head may be the way to success. Thankfully, this innovation is on a uphill and our future for the all-in-one flu shot is looking bright!

-Vanessa

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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Promising Lead to a Universal Flu Vaccine

Posted on February 7, 2016 by | 1 comment

It’s flu season. Every year people get vaccinated against the flu, also known as influenza. Now, researchers are looking at a long-lasting flu vaccine that does not need to be given annually.

Tylenol

– Image Source: Dennis S. Hurd, Flickr

A recent study shows that scientists may have found a new potential target to generate new vaccines against certain types of the flu. They focused on a protein called hemagglutinin found on the surface of viral influenza particles. This protein contains a head region, which undergoes constant genetic changes, as well as a stem region that does not change. Although current influenza vaccines are composed of the viral particles from the head region, researchers discovered a way to stabilize the stem region in order to create a vaccine. Their results showed that vaccinated mice and ferrets either had reduced symptoms or complete immunity against certain related influenza viruses.

A vaccine is produced from taking a virus and weakening it so that it is unable to replicate and cause harm within an individual. When the vaccine is injected, the body is tricked into thinking that the virus particles are dangerous, thus initiating an immune response and producing antibodies that destroy that specific virus particle. As a result, these antibodies reside in the body for long periods of time. Therefore, if in the future the real virus enters the body, you will have specific antibodies to protect you from the virus.

– Credit: TED-Ed

Although a new flu vaccine is produced every year, the effectiveness of the vaccine may vary. Each flu season, because the virus is constantly changing, researchers try to determine the specific types of influenza that are currently circulating and those that will be present in the coming year. Based on this information, a vaccine is produced consisting of multiple types of the virus, however, it is impossible for the vaccine to be 100% accurate. With the discovery of this new target area on hemagglutinin, it could lead to the production of one vaccine for a group of related influenza viruses.

– Credit: Discovery News

According to the Government of Canada, approximately 10-20% of the population becomes infected with influenza annually. Flu symptoms typically include fever, cough, and aches. Furthermore, there are 12,200 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths each year. Individuals at greater risk for complications or hospitalization caused by the flu include people with other diseases and weakened immune systems, residents in chronic care facilities, people aged 65 or older, and pregnant women. Immunize BC emphasizes the importance of everyone getting vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of disease to others. Researchers are hoping that a longer-lasting flu vaccine will encourage more people to get vaccinated, and also reduce the cost associated with producing and administering seasonal flu vaccines.

However, we may still have to get our yearly flu shots for quite some time. Researchers, although very optimistic about the future of creating a new long-lasting vaccine, say that more research needs to be done to determine the efficacy in human models.

– Brian Infanti

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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