Universal flu vaccine hope as scientists find immune cells which fight all strains

Currently the flu jab needs to be updated each year because the virus mutates 
Currently the flu jab needs to be updated each year because the virus mutates  Credit: Alamy 

Immune cells which could fight all kinds of influenza virus have been discovered by scientists, raising hope for a universal vaccine which does not need to be update annually.

Researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Monash University found that some killer T cells are able to fight off all forms of the virus.

Most immune cells only target individual strains, but researchers discovered parts of the virus that were common across all types of flu and then looked for cells in humans which could latch on to those areas.

The type of killer T cells exist in half of the world’s population, giving them a much better natural immunity, when the immune system is functioning fully.

But researchers believe they may be able to use the cells to create a vaccine to boost the cell activity or retrain the immune system.

“Influenza viruses continuously mutate to evade recognition by our immune system, and they are vastly diverse, making it nearly impossible to predict and vaccinate against the strain that will cause the next influenza pandemic,” said first author Dr Marios Koutsakos.

“We have identified the parts of the virus that are shared across all flu strains, and sub-strains capable of infecting humans, and then investigated if we could find robust responses to those viral parts in healthy humans, and influenza-infected adults and children.”

University of Melbourne Professor Katherine Kedzierska, study leader and laboratory head at the Doherty Institute, said it was an exciting discovery that clearly showed killer T cells provide unprecedented immunity across all flu viruses, a key component of a potential universal vaccine.

“Influenza B immunology particularly has remained largely understudied because it doesn’t have pandemic potential,” she said.

“However, it is a serious virus that can lead to death and severe illness, mostly in children, and was one of the missing pieces of the universal flu protection puzzle,” Professor Kedzierska said.

The research team also conducted tests on human lung tissue and in mice, injnecting peptides which activated the killer T cells.

“Our immunisation studies with the peptide responsible for activating the killer T cells revealed remarkably reduced levels of flu virus and inflammation in the airways,” Mr Koutsakos said.

The research was published in Nature Immunology.

License this content