From a mix of antibodies we could obtain a universal influence treatment

A platoon of antibodies in a single treatment could one day avoid the most serious forms of influence in patients most at risk: for now, it has been able to protect mice from flu viruses of three different strains, targeting a region that remains unchanged in the pathogens of this family of transformists. The results of the experimentation were published on Science Advances.

The best weapons we have against the flu are flu vaccines: they stimulate the production of neutralizing antibodies, which are specifically linked to the surface structures (antigens) of a pathogen before it can infect. The vaccines are highly effective, but their production takes many months and is hindered by the fact that the influence viruses tend to change: they acquire changes in their superficial proteins that allow to escape the immunity already acquired in the population and that weaken the effectiveness of vaccines.

That’s why vaccines are updated to each new flu season, while working to create a universal vaccine, effective against all flu viruses.

The preparation designed by the scientists of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine of Farmington (Connecticut) and of the Scrips Research Institute of La Jolla (California) is based on non -neutralizing antibodies, which do not eliminate the ability of the virus to infect but enhance the response to the infection by recalling other immune cells on the spot. The goal is therefore to develop not a vaccine but a therapy that prevents the worst infection and that can become lethal.

In the flu “cocktail”, three antibodies have been inserted that target a protein in the influence virus A in a region called M2E, essential to pathogen to replicate. This piece of viruses remains practically unchanged in all strains.

The mix has been tested in mice exposed to various subtypes of influence A (one of the three types of influence that infect man): two h1n1 strains, including what caused the pandemics of pig flu in 2009 and which gave rise to the currently circulating strain of H1N1; The H5N1, which is causing the aviary influenza epidemic in birds, wild mammals and in the cattle of the United States, and the H7N9, which mainly infected birds but also the man who has been exposed to infected feathers.

Antibodies have reduced the severity of the disease and the quantity of viruses in the lungs of infected animals, and improved the survival of immunocompromed animals.

The one at H7N9, a virus that can be lethal, was total when the antiviral was taken three days after the infection, of 70% if taken on the fourth day and 60% if taken the fifth day.

Even after 24 days from the administration, the influence viruses exposed to the antibodies had not changed: to be able to escape the therapy, pathogens should be able to attract three different types of antibodies, which work slightly differently.

It is the first time that an antiviral treatment shows such a wide efficacy against the flu virus. But now it will be verified whether the mix of antibodies is equally protective on man. Beyond the specific composition, the study makes it hope that, in the future, an anti -influence garrison can be reached to be accompanied by vaccines, and administering the bands most at risk of serious influence.