Nanoparticle vaccines can help provide broader protection against various influenza virus variants by triggering important cellular and mucosal immune responses, as per a recent research study conducted by experts from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.
The research, featured in the journal Nature Communications, offers valuable insights into customizing vaccination approaches to maximize the effectiveness of influenza vaccines. Enhancing cross-protection against influenza viruses is essential for reducing the significant public health impact of influenza outbreaks and sporadic pandemics, according to the researchers.
Current seasonal influenza vaccines, despite being recommended annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offer limited and short-term immunity that is specific to particular strains. These vaccines do not provide sufficient cross-protection against diverse virus variants or defense against unexpected influenza pandemics, as explained by the authors.
Dr. Chunhong Dong, the primary author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State, emphasized the importance of developing effective influenza vaccines or vaccination strategies that can offer cross-protection against different influenza viruses to reduce the public health impact of influenza.
In the study, researchers examined the impact of vaccination strategies on inducing cross-protective immune responses in female mice using mRNA lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and protein-based polyethyleneimine-HA/CpG (PHC) nanoparticle vaccines that target influenza hemagglutinin. Mice received either intramuscular mRNA LNP or intranasal PHC vaccines following a typical prime-plus-boost regimen, with various sequential immunization strategies compared simultaneously.
Dr. Baozhong Wang, a Distinguished University Professor at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State and the senior author of the study, stated, “Our findings indicate that cellular and mucosal immune responses are critical for cross-protection against influenza. Intranasal PHC immunization, in particular, excels in inducing mucosal immunity and providing cross-protection. The combination of mRNA LNP prime and intranasal PHC boost showed the best cross-protection against different influenza strains.”
The study underscores the significance of the order of vaccinations and suggests that in a sequential immunization approach, priming with an mRNA vaccine plays a key role in regulating the Th1/Th2 immune responses. Dr. Wang further highlighted the essential role of the intranasal PHC boost in eliciting mucosal immunity.
Other authors of the study include Wandi Zhu, Lai Wei, Joo Kyung Kim, Yao Ma, and Sang-Moo Kang from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.
The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
