PROVIDENCE R.I., Sept. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at EpiVax and the University of Rhode Island explain how H7N9 influenza hides from the human immune system. H7N9 vaccine development has become a priority for public health officials due to its high rate of lethality and pandemic potential. However, candidate vaccines have failed to elicit a strong immune response necessary to protect from infection. A study published in Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics has revealed that it may be due to immune camouflage.
The study published by Anne S. De Groot, Director of the Institute for Immunology and Informatics at the University of Rhode Island, and CEO at EpiVax, Inc., and colleagues shows that the H7N9 hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein has evolved a set of mutations that make it similar to human protein. These mutations appear to effectively camouflage the pathogen from the immune system.
Computer tools developed by De Groot were able to predict the efficacy of new vaccines. "Our prediction that H7N9 vaccines would have low efficacy was made before any clinical data were available," says De Groot. "We were absolutely correct: in comparison with H1N1 and H3N1, H7N9 vaccines are far less immunogenic."
De Groot's research team has developed a computational tool, JanusMatrix, which is capable of determining whether a viral protein is similar to human protein. It turns out that HA from H7N9, but not from other investigated influenza strains, shows high similarity to several human proteins.
These findings have the potential to impact vaccine development. "It could explain why some candidate vaccines for pathogens that have co-evolved with human beings – like M. tuberculosis and HIV – do not work well. This research suggests that 'tweaking' pathogen proteins to remove those camouflaging sequences would result in more effective vaccines," concludes Prof. De Groot.
About EpiVax, Inc.
EpiVax is a unique biotechnology company based in Providence, RI with expertise in immunology and immunoinformatics, and a proven track record in the fields of immunogenicity screening, deimmunization, and immune modulation. Through the utilization of computational computational tools, EpiVax is helping engineer safer, more effective therapeutic proteins and rapidly design protective and efficacious new vaccines.
About H7N9 (from CDC.gov)
Human infections with a new avian influenza A (H7N9) virus were first reported in China in March 2013. Most concerning about H7N9 is the pandemic potential of this virus, should human-to-human transmission become common.
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