Could a flu vaccine derived from yeast replace annual jabs?
Engineered baker’s yeast produced virus-like particles that triggered antibodies in 18 mice and protected them from three influenza strains, researchers said.
- Researchers at the University in Michigan developed a yeast-based flu vaccine that protected mice against multiple influenza strains, offering a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional chicken egg methods.
- The world relies on an 80-year-old egg-based method targeting rapidly mutating HA-focused proteins, but the team targeted the M2 protein, which she said is "far less prone to mutation than HA."
- Trang Hoang transformed yeast into VLP "factories" to produce large amounts of M2 protein; she vaccinated 18 mice with purified VLPs, observing 100% protection against multiple influenza strains.
- The team licensed the technology to a company developing yeast systems to produce oral vaccines, with Wen believing these engineered strains could be "brewed" as vaccines for influenza and other diseases.
- While promising in mice, researchers say work remains before the universal flu vaccine is ready for human trials; they also hope to explore new designs for people with weak immune responses.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Universal Flu Vaccine Strategy Takes Aim at a Century-Old Viral Target
University of Michigan researchers have developed a new way to exploit a decades-old target in the quest for a universal flu vaccine, using baker’s yeast to produce virus-like particles displaying full-length M2, a highly conserved influenza protein. In mice, the experimental vaccine generated antibodies that recognized M2 from five influenza strains and provided 100% protection when animals were challenged with three different strains. The find…
A Yeast-Brewed Flu Shot That Could Outlast the Season
Months before flu season peaks, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must predict which influenza strains will dominate, so manufacturers can build them into [...] Read the rest of A Yeast-Brewed Flu Shot That Could Outlast the Season at Global Biodefense
Scientists at the University of Michigan have announced groundbreaking research results on a new flu vaccine that could revolutionize protection against this deadly disease. Their method uses common baker's yeast to quickly and cheaply produce the vaccine, which, in tests on mice, has been shown to provide immunity against a wide range of flu strains. The results were presented at the American Chemical Society conference in Chicago.
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