A team of researchers, including scientists from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, said they have discovered a novel approach to combating the H5N1 bird flu and other strains.
Their method , using monoclonal antibodies , has the scientific community abuzz over the potential for new flu treatments.
Researchers from Burnham, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that they were able to engineer human antibodies, or immune system proteins that attach to invaders, to combat bird flu and other strains in mice.
Influenza is especially difficult to combat since the virus cloaks itself in lollipop-shaped proteins which mutate regularly. The antibodies worked by attaching to the “stick” part of the lollipop, which is less prone to mutation.
In preclinical studies, animals given lethal doses of the flu virus recovered and survived when given the vaccine three days after infection.
Researchers surmise that their findings could translate into treatments for bird flu, seasonal flu and also as the basis for a flu vaccine. Worldwide, more than 250,000 people die from seasonal flu each year. While vaccines can control flu, they must be updated each year in order to keep pace with mutations.
The study was published online Feb. 22 in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
, Heather Chambers
