OHSU makes progress toward flu vaccine with lifetime immunity

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – New research led by Oregon Health & Science University found a “promising approach” for a universal flu vaccine that could provide lifetime immunity.

With help from a century-old virus, researchers said a “one-and-done” flu shot could be coming soon.

“It’s exciting because in most cases, this kind of basic science research advances the science very gradually; in 20 years, it might become something,” said the study’s lead author, Jonah Sacha, Ph.D., professor and chief of the Division of Pathobiology at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center. “This could actually become a vaccine in five years or less.”

During the study , researchers tested an OHSU-developed vaccine platform against the virus most likely to cause the next pandemic: the avian H5N1 influenza virus, also known as bird flu.

The study found the vaccine created a robust immune response in monkeys that were exposed to the bird flu virus, OHSU said.

Researchers noted the vaccine was not based on the contemporary bird flu virus. Instead, the monkeys were vaccinated against the influenza virus of 1918 — which killed millions of people around the world.

The study found six out of eleven monkeys vaccinated against the 1918 virus survived exposure to bird flu, which OHSU said is one of the deadliest viruses today.

A control group of six unvaccinated monkeys exposed to bird flu died from the disease, OHSU said.

According to Sacha, OHSU’s vaccine platform could be helpful against other mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 — or coronavirus.

“It’s a very viable approach,” Sacha said. “For viruses of pandemic potential, it’s critical to have something like this. We set out to test influenza, but we don’t know what’s going to come next.”

“Should a deadly virus such as H5N1 infect a human and ignite a pandemic, we need to quickly validate and deploy a new vaccine,” said co-corresponding author Douglas Reed, Ph.D., associate professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research.

During the study, researchers used a platform OHSU previously developed to fight HIV and tuberculosis and is currently in a clinical trial against HIV.

The method includes inserting small pieces of pathogens into the common herpes virus, cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which infects most people in their lifetimes with mild or no symptoms, OHSU explained.

The virus is designed to then create an immune response from the body’s T cells.

According to OHSU, this approach differs from other vaccines, which are designed to create an antibody response that targets the most recent evolution of the virus.

“The problem with influenza is that it’s not just one virus,” Sacha said. “Like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it’s always evolving the next variant and we’re always left to chase where the virus was, not where it’s going to be.”

OHSU said the study shows the potential for creating a vaccine against bird flu in humans.

“Inhalation of aerosolized H5N1 influenza virus causes a cascade of events that can trigger respiratory failure,” said co-senior author Simon Barratt-Boyes, Ph.D., professor of infectious diseases, microbiology and immunology at University of Pittsburgh. “The immunity induced by the vaccine was sufficient to limit virus infection and lung damage, protecting the monkeys from this very serious infection.”

The study also shows CMV vaccines could generate a long-lasting immune response against an array of new variants, OHSU explained.

“I think it means within five to 10 years, a one-and-done shot for influenza is realistic,” Sacha said.

“It’s a massive sea change within our lifetimes,” he added. “There is no question we are on the cusp of the next generation of how we address infectious disease.”

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