A team of researchers from the University of California - Los Angeles (Ucla) is working on an influenza vaccine that would confer immunity against different viral strains and could even be administered as a nasal spray . The potential universal vaccine is based on a live virus modified in the laboratory that can stimulate a powerful immune system response without being virulent.
The results of these studies (still on animal models ) have been published in Science .
An innovative flu vaccine
Current influenza vaccines consist of a cocktail of killed viral strains, ie several influenza viruses that are no longer able to replicate and therefore can not give rise to the disease.
However, the killed viruses are used to activate our immune system to produce antibodies . The problem of antibody immune response is that it gives protection in the short term , so every year scientists must predict which viral strains will cause the flu outbreak. An operation that is certainly not easy and that can be subject to errors.
Ucla researchers have instead developed a vaccine based on a live virus that stimulates the immune system both to produce antibodies and to activate T lymphocytes , cells used to fight infections. This type of immune response is an additional weapon of defense of the organism and above all is long-term .
Although the virus used for the vaccine is alive , experts assure that it is not able to replicate because it has been specially modified in the laboratory . A mutant virus, in short, the result of many experiments with which scientists have modified it to make it an ideal ingredient for the vaccine: not powerful enough to replicate, able to stimulate a strong immune response and at the same time highly vulnerable to be eliminated from the organism without complications.
Also the proposed method of administration is innovative. The researchers propose to replace the classic injection with a nasal spray.
Too Good to be True?
The research, published in Science, is giving very promising results, at least in animal models (ferrets and mice). For now there is no evidence on human beings. Precisely for this reason it is necessary to keep our feet on the ground, the Scripps Research Institute experts note in the comment accompanying the article. Since it is a live virus, one must be sure that it does not change again by regaining virulence (ie the ability to cause the disease), even if the authors of the work tend to exclude this possibility, given the number of mutations specifically introduced. Furthermore, it will be necessary to verify for which viral strains could in all cases confer protection and if the induced immune response is not too violent to endanger people's lives.
Beyond a healthy and justified skepticism, the future prospects remain very exciting .
References for Further Reading
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