Swine Flu Vaccine May Protect Against Other Flu Viruses
- By BSTQ Staff
Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have found that the swine flu vaccine triggers antibodies that protect against many flu viruses, including the lethal bird flu strain. According to UBC Professor John Schrader, the findings support the idea that there is a way to develop universal flu vaccines that would eliminate the need for seasonal vaccines each year.
Schrader compared virus proteins with a tulip-like structure. Whereas traditional vaccines adhere to the “flower head” of the structure, which mutate regularly and require new vaccines, the swine flu vaccine appeared to produce antibodies that attacked the “stem” of the flu virus proteins, creating more stable resistance. “The stem plays such an integral role in penetrating the cell that it cannot change between different variants of the flu virus,” said Schrader.
The research was published May 8 in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
