’Core’ immune cells reduce symptoms and spread of flu

A four-year study of 1,414 unvaccinated people across England found that 43% of them had immune cells that protected them from symptoms of both seasonal and pandemic influenza, and reduced their chances of shedding the virus by two thirds. The research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , shows that certain'T cells, immune cells that fight infection, can help to control influenza infections by targeting a core structural protein common to all strains of influenza A. Influenza A is the most common type of influenza and is the only type that can cause pandemics After the 2014 flu vaccine was found to protect against the wrong strain, the new finding offers the possibility of a universal vaccine to reliably reduce the severity and spread of all types of influenza A. The finding also helps to explain why so many people who catch flu never experience symptoms, even in a pandemic. The study found that certain'T cells could target a core part of the influenza virus called the nucleoprotein. All strains of flu A, including those that cross over from animals such as swine flu, have a very similar nucleoprotein structure making them vulnerable to such'T cells. Although a vaccine to boost flu-killing'T cell responses would not prevent individuals from becoming infected in the first place, it would help to stop those who were infected getting ill and spreading the virus through coughs and sneezes. Professor Andrew Hayward "Current flu vaccines help us make antibodies that target the proteins on the outside of a flu virus.