Intranasal Flu Vaccine Developed with Nanoparticles

Researchers in a study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health have developed an influenza (flu) vaccine administered through the nose that has been constructed with nanoparticles and offers stronger protection. The vaccine, which led to robust cross-protection against flu in mice, consists of PEI-HA/CpG nanoparticles. PEI (polyethyleneimine), a robust and versatile delivery system, can simultaneously carry antigens (hemagglutinin [HA]) that induce an immune response in the body and adjuvants (CpG) that enhance the body’s immune response to an antigen for optimum immunoenhancement. According to study results, the immune response and cross-protection exhibited defense against the flu virus more than six months after immunization.
“Our results revealed that the nanoparticles significantly enhanced HA immunogenicity, or the ability to provoke an immune response, providing cross-protection against different influenza strains,” said Baozhong Wang, PhD, corresponding author of the study and a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.
“Nanoparticle platforms have shown intriguing characteristics and great potential in the development of next-generation cross-protective influenza vaccines,” adds Chunhong Dong, MD, PhD, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences. “However, challenges exist to the successful research and development of nanoparticle vaccines. Though no apparent adverse effects were observed in the study, a more comprehensive safety evaluation of the nanoparticle adjuvant system is needed before clinical trials.”