Vanderbilt researchers have identified potent monoclonal antibodies against influenza B, particularly FluB-400, offering a new method to prevent and treat the virus. This advancement may also aid in creating a universal flu vaccine. A 3D rendering shows one of the isolated antibodies, FluB-393, (blue) binding to the neuraminidase surface glycoprotein (red) of the influenza type B virus to prevent infection.
Credit: Illustration by Elad Binshtein, PhD, and Anthony Czelusniak Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified human monoclonal antibodies that target influenza B, a major public health concern that primarily impacts children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Seasonal flu vaccines cover influenza B and the more common influenza A but do not stimulate the broadest possible range of immune responses against both viruses. In addition, people whose immune systems have been weakened by age or illness may not respond effectively to the flu shot.
Small-molecule drugs that block neuraminidase, a major surface glycoprotein of the influenza virus , can help treat early infection, but they provide limited benefit when the infection is more severe, and they are generally less effective in treating influenza B infections. Thus, another way to combat this virus is needed. Breakthrough in Monoclonal Antibodies Reporting in the journal Immunity , the VUMC researchers describe how, from the bone marrow of an individual previously vaccinated agai.
