Prospects of HA-based universal influenza vaccine

Biomed Res Int. 2015:2015:414637. doi: 10.1155/2015/414637. Epub 2015 Feb 15.

Abstract

Current influenza vaccines afford substantial protection in humans by inducing strain-specific neutralizing antibodies (Abs). Most of these Abs target highly variable immunodominant epitopes in the globular domain of the viral hemagglutinin (HA). Therefore, current vaccines may not be able to induce heterosubtypic immunity against the divergent influenza subtypes. The identification of broadly neutralizing Abs (BnAbs) against influenza HA using recent technological advancements in antibody libraries, hybridoma, and isolation of single Ab-secreting plasma cells has increased the interest in developing a universal influenza vaccine as it could provide life-long protection. While these BnAbs can serve as a source for passive immunotherapy, their identification represents an important step towards the design of such a universal vaccine. This review describes the recent advances and approaches used in the development of universal influenza vaccine based on highly conserved HA regions identified by BnAbs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / immunology
  • Antibodies, Viral / immunology
  • Hemagglutinins / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Influenza Vaccines / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Hemagglutinins
  • Influenza Vaccines