Single flu jab could protect us for life

File photo: Some critics argue that developing such a vaccine will be more difficult than the researchers have suggested.

File photo: Some critics argue that developing such a vaccine will be more difficult than the researchers have suggested.

Published May 18, 2015

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London - A once-off flu jab that grants a lifetime of immunity to a wide range of viruses may become a reality, scientists have claimed.

Researchers in Australia and China say they have “cracked the riddle” of exactly how the body wards off such illnesses.

They think they may be able to boost the immune system to the extent that it can destroy any form of influenza.

Australian researchers and a team from Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre isolated samples of T-cells – a type of white blood cell crucial to the body’s fight against diseases – from survivors of bird flu.

A healthy immune system remembers and then attacks threats such as infections and viruses.

But the study found the bird flu survivors had high levels of a “killer” T-cell called CD8+, which helps the body to tackle threats it has never experienced before.

The scientists hope to use these cell samples to develop one vaccine that can immunise against a range of viruses in one injection.

Some critics argue that developing such a vaccine will be more difficult than the researchers have suggested.

But study author Professor Katherine Kedzierska of the University of Melbourne claimed her team’s findings have huge implications.

She said: “Our extraordinary breakthrough could lead to the development of a vaccine component that can protect against all new influenza viruses, with the potential for future development of a one-off universal flu vaccine shot.

“This work will also help clinicians to make early predictions of how well a patient’s immune system will respond to viruses so they can manage early interventions … more effectively, particularly in cases where the patient is at risk of dying.”

The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, were based on research carried out during the H7N9 bird flu outbreak in China in 2013. The team found some patients coped with the virus better than others.

Those who died had been less able to make vital cells in their immune system. Survivors had a better system of CD8+ T-cells, the body’s “army of hitmen” tasked with taking out new viruses.

Professor Kedzierska thinks boosting the ability of T-cells to function would allow them to beat any virus that attacks the body. A single injection would last a lifetime, she said.

A “universal vaccine” that wards off all flu strains is considered the holy grail of virology. Scientists currently have to develop new vaccines each year based on the specific flu viruses they think will circulate in the coming winter.

Last year in Britain, flu viruses mutated so the vaccine given to thousands of people became almost completely ineffective. The Australian researchers claim a universal vaccine would get around this problem – but not everyone is convinced.

Professor Jonathan Ball, a molecular virologist at Nottingham University, said: “It is a huge leap of faith to say that this [research] is going to lead to universal vaccine.

“It would have to work against a multitude of strains that are already in existence, and a multitude of strains that will come to the fore in the future – that is not a trivial task.”

Professor Sarah Gilbert, a leading vaccinologist at Oxford University, said that scientists were already aware of the role of killer T-cells, and her own team is already working on ways to boost the immune system to counter flu.

“A one-shot-for-life vaccine is not really feasible,” she said.

“We have known for some time about the role of a strong T-cell response. We have been trying to boost the T-cell response, but it will not stop people getting flu.

“It may help them respond more strongly, however, and may stop people getting very ill and dying – it would be of most use in a major epidemic.”

Daily Mail

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