Virologists from the US National Institutes of Health discovered unusual antibodies that interact with neuraminidase (NA), a special fungal-shaped flu protein. Antibodies target a little-studied portion of HA. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Immunity.
Current flu vaccines use a different structure on the surface of influenza viruses: hemagglutinin. This sugar-shaped protein allows viruses to attach to the outside of human cells and then enter them. But it mutates quickly, so the flu vaccine must be updated every year to match the flu strains in circulation.
According to experts, the “dark side” of neuraminidase mutates more slowly and remains almost the same in different strains of the influenza pathogen.
In the new study, researchers analyzed blood from two people infected with H3N2, a subtype of the influenza A virus that spreads seasonally and mutates very rapidly. The team identified six antibodies that bind to the dark side of HA.
Laboratory tests showed that these antibodies attached to a number of different H3N2 viruses and slowed their proliferation. The antibodies also worked against another strain of influenza A called H2N2.
In experiments conducted on mice, the antibodies saved many rodents from a lethal dose of the H3N2 virus. This suggests that they may be useful in preventing and treating influenza in humans. The antibodies showed strong protection both when administered to mice before infection and when administered after infection.
The team also tested how the antibodies worked against some drug-resistant strains of flu and found that they still showed the same degree of protection.
previously scientist said About the dangers of using interferon.