"Universal influenza vaccine" is expected to come from a variety of viruses

[]: United States researchers recently announced that they have successfully developed an artificial antibody, against throwing the H5N1 avian influenza, seasonal flu and pandemic influenza in a variety of influenza viruses, which in turn is expected to develop a "universal influenza vaccine."

Harvard Medical School Professor Wayne · Marasco-led research team today released a statement saying that this kind of antibody to "lock" in influenza viruses so that it cannot be lost, so that the virus variant infected human cells capacity through in mice experimentally the antibodies on many types of viruses.

Marasco and his colleagues in mice infected with H5N1 avian influenza virus and inject such antibodies against viruses by 80 percent success rate. They further experiments to prove that the antibody is able to resist the H1 type can also be protected against the H5N1 virus.

Most seasonal influenza viruses to H1 type. At this stage, the H5N1 virus can cause avian influenza, have not yet been variation-"person-to-person" degree, but the medical profession concerned that H5N1 virus may mutate, throw an influenza pandemic.

According to who statistics, around the world each year, 25 000 to 50 000 people died of seasonal influenza. History of occasions an influenza pandemic, 1918 "Spain cause influenza" is a variation of the avian influenza virus, resulting in tens of millions of people lost their lives in the world.

AFP said that these experimental results are astonishing, because this new type of artificial antibodies not only against different types of virus alone, and do not need to rely on enhancing the body's immune system.

Marasco said, this new type of antibody was able to do this, is that it be "bound" virus surface a human previously know very little of hemagglutinin, can prevent the latter "deformation" of human cells after infection.

New York's Mount Sinai School of medicine, Professor Peter · Palese, experts commented that this lectin is a "virus's Achilles heel," once you break this layer "camouflage", antibodies can be "straight" Coke huanglong. Palese said that this discovery "bring us closer to develop a universal flu vaccine".

One of the researchers told the New York Times reporter, they will start in 3 years, clinical trials to prove that this new type of artificial antibodies to human harm.

The study results 22, published in the nature — structure and molecular biology "magazine's Online Edition.