• DOI:10.1126/science.1192517
• Corpus ID: 44753716

Induction of Broadly Neutralizing H1N1 Influenza Antibodies by Vaccination

@article{Wei2010InductionOB,
  title={Induction of Broadly Neutralizing H1N1 Influenza Antibodies by Vaccination},
  author={Chih-Jen Wei and Jeffrey C. Boyington and Patrick M. McTamney and Wing-Pui Kong and Melissa B. Pearce and Ling Xu and Hanne Andersen and Srinivas S. Rao and Terrence M. Tumpey and Zhi-yong Yang and Gary J. Nabel},
  journal={Science},
  year={2010},
  volume={329},
  pages={1060 - 1064}
}

• Chih-Jen Wei, J. Boyington, +8 authors G. Nabel
• Published 27 August 2010
• Biology
• Science

Toward a General Flu Vaccination Current seasonal influenza virus vaccines are targeted against specific viral strains and do not provide broad, durable protection. Seasonal influenza vaccines induce protective antibody responses against regions of viral hemagglutinin (HA) that rapidly mutate so that very soon, the virus becomes resistant to vaccination. Conserved regions of HA also exist, and a major goal of influenza vaccine development is to design a vaccine that elicits antibodies against the conserved regions so that protection against a wide range of viral strains is achieved. Wei et al. (p. 1060, published online 15 July; see the Perspective by Doms) show that a combined HA DNA prime, followed by boosting with a seasonal vaccine, elicits broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses in mice, ferrets, and nonhuman primates, which were protective in mice and ferrets against heterologous influenza challenge. The neutralizing antibodies were directed against the conserved HA stem region, which indicates the possibility that a more broadly protective vaccine against influenza could be developed. An influenza virus vaccine elicits a broadly neutralizing, cross-protective antibody response in mice, ferrets, and nonhuman primates. The rapid dissemination of the 2009 pandemic influenza virus underscores the need for universal influenza vaccines that elicit protective immunity to diverse viral strains. Here, we show that vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding H1N1 influenza hemagglutinin (HA) and boosting with seasonal vaccine or replication-defective adenovirus 5 vector encoding HA stimulated the production of broadly neutralizing influenza antibodies. This prime/boost combination increased the neutralization of diverse H1N1 strains dating from 1934 to 2007 as compared to either component alone and conferred protection against divergent H1N1 viruses in mice and ferrets. These antibodies were directed to the conserved stem region of HA and were also elicited in nonhuman primates. Cross-neutralization of H1N1 subtypes elicited by this approach provides a basis for the development of a universal influenza vaccine for humans.