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The finding may lead to a new universal influenza vaccine to better protect against both seasonal and pandemic outbreaks, says Katherine Kedzierska, the study’s senior author and an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne.

Published in PNAS, the research will also help researchers understand T cell immunity against other viral infections such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and tumors.

“The introduction of a new influenza strain into human circulation leads to a rapid global spread of the virus due to minimal antibody immunity,” says Kedzierska.

“White blood cells called T cells are highly efficient in fighting influenza virus infection. Thus, established T cell immunity towards particular viral regions can provide ‘universal’ immunity against distinct seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.

“However, influenza viruses can mutate their genes to escape efficient T cells. This constitutes a major problem for a design of a universal vaccine.”

In the current paper, researchers have unraveled how influenza viruses evade T cell immunity by introducing specific mutations within the viral proteins.

Professor Peter Doherty, a lead author of the study from the University of Melbourne, says predicting and designing vaccines to protect against such mutants can promote T cell immunity.

“The studies suggested that an influenza vaccine that targets T cells and recognizes distinct virus strains could provide universal immunity against any future influenza strain,” he adds.

The work was done in collaboration with Professor Stephen Turner from Melbourne University and Professor Jamie Rossjohn of Monash University and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

Source: University of Melbourne