Review
Virology
Jiali Li, Yifan Zhang, Xinglong Zhang, Longding Liu
Summary: China has a high number of influenza cases and deaths, and the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is reduced due to viral antigenic drift. Therefore, the development of a universal influenza vaccine is necessary.
Review
Immunology
Christopher L. D. McMillan, Paul R. Young, Daniel Watterson, Keith J. Chappell
Summary: Current influenza virus vaccines mainly induce antibodies against the highly variable head domain of the hemagglutinin protein, but these antibodies are often strain-specific, resulting in limited cross-protection. Therefore, the annual update of vaccine formulations to counteract the challenge of influenza virus evolution is crucial.
Review
Immunology
Maya Sangesland, Daniel Lingwood
Summary: Influenza virus remains a serious public health burden due to ongoing viral evolution. Current seasonal vaccines elicit strain-specific responses, but universal vaccine development aims to redirect immune responses to conserved sites for broad coverage, which is challenging due to immunological barriers.
Article
Rheumatology
Ines Colmegna, Valeria Valerio, Vincent Gosselin-Boucher, Guillaume Lacoste, Sara Labbe, Kim L. Lavoie, Elizabeth Hazel, Brian Ward, Marie Hudson, Sandra Pelaez
Summary: The study aimed to assess perspectives of RA patients and healthcare professionals on barriers and facilitators regarding influenza and pneumococcal vaccines. Results showed that vaccine acceptance is influenced by contextual, individual, and vaccine-related factors.
Review
Virology
Wen-Chien Wang, Ekramy E. Sayedahmed, Suryaprakash Sambhara, Suresh K. Mittal
Summary: Influenza viruses are a major cause of millions of cases globally and pose a significant threat to public health. Current seasonal influenza vaccines provide limited protection and are less effective against mismatched strains. The development of a universal influenza vaccine targeting conserved antigen domains is underway to provide broader protection.
Review
Immunology
Nino Rcheulishvili, Dimitri Papukashvili, Cong Liu, Yang Ji, Yunjiao He, Peng George Wang
Summary: Influenza virus, especially influenza A, is a highly emergent virus with pandemic potential. It can cause infections in humans, poultry, and domestic pigs, and its ability to evolve through antigenic drift and shift makes it difficult for the immune system to recognize and defend against new strains and subtypes. Therefore, developing a universal vaccine targeting influenza A virus is of great importance in preventing deadly pandemics.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Julia S. S. Gillette, Elaina J. J. Wang, Richard S. S. Dowd, Steven A. A. Toms
Summary: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a common malignant brain tumor with a poor prognosis and high recurrence rate. Immunotherapies have shown promise in treating hematological malignancies, but their effectiveness in GBM is limited by unique immunosuppressive factors. However, research has shown that combinatorial immunotherapies targeting immune processes in GBM have had promising results. This review aims to discuss the immune resistance in GBM and summarize the current evidence and outcomes of treatments to overcome GBM's resistance to immunotherapy.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Longbo Hu, Geqi Lao, Rui Liu, Jin Feng, Fei Long, Tao Peng
Summary: Influenza virus is a significant health risk, causing flu and infecting millions of people worldwide. Seasonal vaccines often have low and unpredictable effectiveness due to virus variation and preexisting immunity. Developing a universal influenza vaccine requires innovative strategies and platforms to generate cross-protective immunity. This review discusses candidate vaccines that meet two criteria: providing protection against multiple viruses and passing regulatory evaluations. Different vaccine-production platforms, antigen selection, design, adjuvants, immunomodulators, and vaccine delivery routes in universal influenza vaccine development are discussed.
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ranmali Kavishna, Tha Yang Kang, Maurizio Vacca, Benson Yen Leong Chua, Hae-Young Park, Peck Szee Tan, Vincent Tk Chow, Mireille H. Lahoud, Sylvie Alonso
Summary: Influenza, also known as flu, is a global public health concern and a significant economic burden. Researchers have been pursuing the development of a broadly protective universal flu vaccine, and have now successfully improved the immunogenicity of the M2e vaccine using a targeting strategy. In mouse studies, this strategy has shown promising results in terms of generating a robust protective response. Translation to humans is now an exciting possibility.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mojtaba Taheri, Mehran Nemattalab, Mohammad Mahjoob, Elham Hasan-Alizadeh, Nina Zamani, Iraj Nikokar, Mehdi Evazalipour, Bahram Soltani Tehrani, Mohammad Shenagari
Summary: This study aimed to develop a universal influenza vaccine, with new bicistronic DNA vaccines and the use of cytokine adjuvants. The research revealed that vaccines encoding NPm have greater ability to induce potent cross-cellular immune response and protective immunity compared to those encoding NP.
Review
Immunology
Claudia Maria Trombetta, Otfried Kistner, Emanuele Montomoli, Simonetta Viviani, Serena Marchi
Summary: Influenza is a vaccine preventable disease and vaccination is the most effective method of controlling the morbidity and mortality of seasonal influenza, especially among risk groups. The effectiveness of current influenza vaccines is suboptimal, but they are still effective against morbidity and mortality in all age and risk groups, particularly in young children and older adults.
Article
Virology
Santosh Dhakal, Jeffrey Loube, Julia A. Misplon, Chia-Yun Lo, Patrick S. Creisher, Kathleen R. Mulka, Sharvari Deshpande, Wayne Mitzner, Sabra L. Klein, Suzanne L. Epstein
Summary: In a mouse model, universal influenza vaccine candidates induced strong immune responses without causing lung damage and provided significant protection against influenza A virus infection compared to unvaccinated mice. The results support the potential of universal influenza vaccines in preventing future pandemic outbreaks.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Minjin Kim, Yucheol Cheong, Jinhee Lee, Jongkwan Lim, Sanguine Byun, Yo Han Jang, Baik Lin Seong
Summary: This study demonstrated that caspase-triggered live attenuated influenza vaccine induced broad reactive antibody response and provided heterosubtypic protection against diverse influenza viruses in mice model. The protection relied on non-neutralizing antibodies-mediated ADCC activities and robust mucosal secretion of sIgA, which highlight the potential of this vaccine as a promising option for developing a universal influenza vaccine.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Brianna L. Bullard, Eric A. Weaver
Summary: The significant viral diversity of influenza virus presents challenges for vaccine development, but novel antigen design strategies targeting the HA protein can improve cross-reactive immunity for the development of a universal influenza vaccine.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
R. R. Mintaev, D. V. Glazkova, E. V. Bogoslovskaya, G. A. Shipulin
Summary: This study proposes the use of modern prediction algorithms to select highly conserved and antigenic epitopes from influenza viruses, which can be used to develop universal influenza vaccines. The universal scripts used in this process can also be applied to the selection of epitopes from other pathogens.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sonia Jangra, Jana De Vrieze, Angela Choi, Raveen Rathnasinghe, Gabriel Laghlali, Annemiek Uvyn, Simon Van Herck, Lutz Nuhn, Kim Deswarte, Zifu Zhong, Niek N. Sanders, Stefan Lienenklaus, Sunil A. David, Shirin Strohmeier, Fatima Amanat, Florian Krammer, Hamida Hammad, Bart N. Lambrecht, Lynda Coughlan, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Bruno G. De Geest, Michael Schotsaert
Summary: IMDQ-PEG-CHOL is an amphiphilic TLR7/8 adjuvant that can enhance immune response, reduce systemic inflammation, and translocate to lymph nodes. When added to vaccines, it induces high levels of antibodies in mice that effectively neutralize viral infections in vitro and in vivo.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Fatima Amanat, Shirin Strohmeier, Wen-Hsin Lee, Sandhya Bangaru, Andrew B. Ward, Lynda Coughlan, Florian Krammer
Summary: In this study, mouse monoclonal antibodies were generated against different epitopes on the RBD of SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that neutralizing antibodies can lower viral titers in the lungs while non-neutralizing antibodies cannot. Most of the MAbs also cross-neutralize the B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 variants in vitro.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lynda Coughlan, Eric J. Kremer, Dmitry M. Shayakhmetov
Summary: Zoonotic viruses pose a continuous threat, and investing in vaccine development is crucial. Replication-defective adenoviral vectors have shown potential as vaccine platforms. This review discusses the progress in using Ad-based vaccines against emerging viruses and summarizes their global safety profile during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Carly M. Bliss, Alec W. Freyn, Tom G. Caniels, Victor H. Leyva-Grado, Raffael Nachbagauer, Weina Sun, Gene S. Tan, Virginia L. Gillespie, Meagan McMahon, Florian Krammer, Adrian V. S. Hill, Peter Palese, Lynda Coughlan
Summary: Conventional influenza vaccines fail to provide broad protection against diverse influenza A viruses. However, this study presents a non-replicating adenoviral vaccine that can elicit broad and cross-reactive protection against multiple strains of influenza A in mice.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jenna J. Guthmiller, Julianna Han, Henry A. Utset, Lei Li, Linda Yu-Ling Lan, Carole Henry, Christopher T. Stamper, Meagan McMahon, George O'Dell, Monica L. Fernandez-Quintero, Alec W. Freyn, Fatima Amanat, Olivia Stovicek, Lauren Gentles, Sara T. Richey, Alba Torrents de la Pena, Victoria Rosado, Haley L. Dugan, Nai-Ying Zheng, Micah E. Tepora, Dalia J. Bitar, Siriruk Changrob, Shirin Strohmeier, Min Huang, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Klaus R. Liedl, Jesse D. Bloom, Raffael Nachbagauer, Peter Palese, Florian Krammer, Lynda Coughlan, Andrew B. Ward, Patrick C. Wilson
Summary: A new class of broadly neutralizing antibodies has been discovered that can target multiple strains of influenza viruses, including potential pandemic threats. These antibodies utilize specific epitopes for neutralization, which is crucial for the design of universal influenza virus vaccines. It is found that antibodies targeting these epitopes are widespread in the human body.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Weina Sun, Yonghong Liu, Fatima Amanat, Irene Gonzalez-Dominguez, Stephen McCroskery, Stefan Slamanig, Lynda Coughlan, Victoria Rosado, Nicholas Lemus, Sonia Jangra, Raveen Rathnasinghe, Michael Schotsaert, Jose L. Martinez, Kaori Sano, Ignacio Mena, Bruce L. Innis, Ponthip Wirachwong, Duong Huu Thai, Ricardo Das Neves Oliveira, Rami Scharf, Richard Hjorth, Rama Raghunandan, Florian Krammer, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Peter Palese
Summary: The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has been crucial in mitigating the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but equitable allocation of vaccines is necessary to limit global impact and the emergence of variants. A Newcastle disease virus-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been developed, inducing protective immunity in various animal models.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pauline Maisonnasse, Yoann Aldon, Aurelien Marc, Romain Marlin, Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet, Natalia A. Kuzmina, Alec W. Freyn, Jonne L. Snitselaar, Antonio Goncalves, Tom G. Caniels, Judith A. Burger, Meliawati Poniman, Ilja Bontjer, Virginie Chesnais, Segolene Diry, Anton Iershov, Adam J. Ronk, Sonia Jangra, Raveen Rathnasinghe, Philip J. M. Brouwer, Tom P. L. Bijl, Jelle van Schooten, Mitch Brinkkemper, Hejun Liu, Meng Yuan, Chad E. Mire, Marielle J. van Breemen, Vanessa Contreras, Thibaut Naninck, Julien Lemaitre, Nidhal Kahlaoui, Francis Relouzat, Catherine Chapon, Raphael Ho Tsong Fang, Charlene McDanal, Mary Osei-Twum, Natalie St-Amant, Luc Gagnon, David C. Montefiori, Ian A. Wilson, Eric Ginoux, Godelieve J. de Bree, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Michael Schotsaert, Lynda Coughlan, Alexander Bukreyev, Sylvie van der Werf, Jeremie Guedj, Rogier W. Sanders, Marit J. van Gils, Roger Le Grand
Summary: Monoclonal antibody COVA1-18 exhibits potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, reducing viral infectivity significantly in animal models. This neutralizing antibody shows efficacy in preventing virus spread and reducing viral loads in different animal models during both prophylactic and therapeutic settings.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fatima Amanat, Shirin Strohmeier, Philip Meade, Nicholas Dambrauskas, Barbara Muehlemann, Derek J. Smith, Vladimir Vigdorovich, D. Noah Sather, Lynda Coughlan, Florian Krammer
Summary: The study demonstrates that recombinant protein spike antigens from different viral variants provide protection against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 in a mouse model, inducing high cross-neutralizing antibody responses. Despite a moderate decline in neutralizing titers between different variants, they still retain neutralizing capability.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander T. Baker, Ryan J. Boyd, Daipayan Sarkar, Alicia Teijeira-Crespo, Chun Kit Chan, Emily Bates, Kasim Waraich, John Vant, Eric Wilson, Chloe D. Truong, Magdalena Lipka-Lloyd, Petra Fromme, Josh Vermaas, Dewight Williams, LeeAnn Machiesky, Meike Heurich, Bolni M. Nagalo, Lynda Coughlan, Scott Umlauf, Po-Lin Chiu, Pierre J. Rizkallah, Taylor S. Cohen, Alan L. Parker, Abhishek Singharoy, Mitesh J. Borad
Summary: Vaccines using chimpanzee adenovirus, human adenovirus, and other types have played a crucial role in the pandemic but may induce rare side effects. Research shows these vaccines may bind with PF4, affecting the mechanism of HIT.
Article
Microbiology
Irene Gonzalez-Dominguez, Jose Luis Martinez, Stefan Slamanig, Nicholas Lemus, Yonghong Liu, Tsoi Ying Lai, Juan Manuel Carreno, Gagandeep A. Singh, Gagandeep B. Singh, Michael Schotsaert, Ignacio Mena, Stephen McCroskery, Lynda Coughlan, Florian Krammer, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Peter Palese, Weina Sun
Summary: This paper describes an extended work on the Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-based vaccine focusing on multivalent formulations of NDV vectors expressing different prefusion-stabilized versions of the spike proteins of different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). It demonstrates that this low-cost NDV platform can be easily adapted to construct vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Importantly, the trivalent preparation (composed of the ancestral Wuhan, Beta, and Delta vaccines) substantially increases the levels of protection and of cross-neutralizing antibodies against mismatched, phylogenetically distant variants (including the currently circulating Omicron variant). These findings will help guide efforts for pandemic preparedness against new variants in the future.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Johannes B. Goll, Aarti Jain, Travis L. Jensen, Rafael Assis, Rie Nakajima, Algis Jasinskas, Lynda Coughlan, Sami R. Cherikh, Casey E. Gelber, S. Khan, D. Huw Davies, Philip Meade, Daniel Stadlbauer, Shirin Strohmeier, Florian Krammer, Wilbur H. Chen, Philip L. Felgner
Summary: In this study, researchers investigated the antibody responses to seasonal and pre-pandemic influenza vaccines with and without the adjuvants AS03 and MF59. They found that the adjuvanted vaccines produced higher and broader immune responses, with AS03 showing superior efficacy compared to MF59. The adjuvanted vaccines also induced the production of antibodies targeting the stalk of the hemagglutinin protein.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Robert Haupt, Lauren Baracco, Erin M. Harberts, Madhumathi Loganathan, Lucas J. Kerstetter, Florian Krammer, Lynda Coughlan, Robert K. Ernst, Matthew B. Frieman
Summary: The BECC438 and BECC470 adjuvants formulated with an influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein vaccine provide enhanced protection against influenza virus in adult mouse respiratory models. Immunization with HA + BECC adjuvants also broadens the epitopes targeted on HA and increases antibody titers against the conserved HA stalk domain. Furthermore, BECC470 combined with an influenza virus HA protein antigen achieves complete protection in a aged mouse model.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Sonia Jangra, Gabriel Laghlali, Angela Choi, Raveen Rathnasinghe, Yong Chen, Soner Yildiz, Lynda Coughlan, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Bruno G. De Geest, Michael Schotsaert
Summary: The effectiveness of influenza vaccine can be improved by using adjuvants that enhance the host-vaccine response. This study investigated the use of two adjuvants, RIG-I agonist (SDI-nanogel) and TLR7/8 agonist (Imidazoquinoline (IMDQ)-PEG-Chol), in combination with a licensed quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV). The results showed that co-administration of QIV with these adjuvants enhanced the immune response, resulting in increased antibody titers and T cell responses. The combination of the two adjuvants had a stronger effect compared to using a single adjuvant. The findings highlight the importance of adjuvants that target multiple receptors in shaping the host immune response.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Fatima Amanat, Jordan Clark, Juan Manuel Carreno, Shirin Strohmeier, Temima Yellin, Philip S. Meade, Disha Bhavsar, Hiromi Muramatsu, Weina Sun, Lynda Coughlan, Norbert Pardi, Florian Krammer
Summary: Seasonal coronaviruses have been circulating widely in the human population and it has been hypothesized that immunity to these viruses may provide partial protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. COVID-19 vaccination has also been shown to boost immunity against seasonal betacoronaviruses.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Cosette Schneider, Lynda Coughlan
