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Vaccines
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The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition
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The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Influenza Virus Vaccines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 3398

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ramireddy Bommireddy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Interests: influenza; older population; adjuvants; universal vaccine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the increased importance of influenza vaccination in the elderly due to increased morbidity and mortality, vaccine efficacy is only 17-53% versus 70-90% in young adults. The development of vaccines for an ever-increasing aging population has been an arduous challenge due to immunosenescence. Some approaches to improve vaccine efficacy in the elderly include high-dose vaccines and the use of better adjuvants. Currently, high-dose influenza vaccines and adjuvanted vaccines are approved in the US for people aged 65 years and older. These influenza vaccines induce elevated hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titers by enhancing the immunogenicity of vaccines. The efficacy of controlling lung viral replication by vaccination with adjuvants that induce antibody, CD4, and CD8 T cell responses is desirable. Recent advances in developing universal vaccines that generate immunity against stalk proteins might provide better protection against various strains of influenza virus. We welcome articles that provide the latest developments in vaccines and novel adjuvants and mechanisms of long-term efficacy studies or review articles in this area for this Special Issue.

Dr. Ramireddy Bommireddy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • influenza
  • older population
  • adjuvants
  • universal vaccine

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 991 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Obesity on Influenza Vaccine Immunogenicity and Antibody Transfer to the Infant During Pregnancy
by Michelle Clarke, Suja M. Mathew, Lynne C. Giles, Ian G. Barr, Peter C. Richmond and Helen S. Marshall
Vaccines 2024, 12(12), 1307; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12121307 - 22 Nov 2024
Viewed by 37
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Influenza vaccination is recommended for pregnant women, offering the dual benefit of protecting pregnant women and their newborn infants against influenza. This study aimed to investigate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on influenza vaccine responses in pregnant women and their [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Influenza vaccination is recommended for pregnant women, offering the dual benefit of protecting pregnant women and their newborn infants against influenza. This study aimed to investigate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on influenza vaccine responses in pregnant women and their newborns. Methods: Participants included pregnant women attending the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in South Australia between 2018 and 2021. Maternal blood samples were collected prior to and at 1 and 6 months post-influenza vaccination to measure antibody responses by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. Cord blood samples were also collected. The percentages of participants achieving HI titre ≥40 were compared between obese and non-obese groups. Results: A total of 73 women were enrolled and received quadrivalent influenza vaccination at a mean age of 32 years (range 21–44 y) and median gestation of 24 weeks (range 11–37 weeks). BMI at vaccination was ≥30 kg/m2 for 21/73 women (29%). Most pregnant women demonstrated antibody titres ≥ 40 to all four influenza vaccine strains at 1 month post-vaccination regardless of BMI category (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2: 19/20; 95% vs. BMI < 30 kg/m2: 47/49; 96%). At 6 months post-vaccination, 12/17 (71%) obese women compared to 36/43 (84%) non-obese women (p = 0.25) maintained HI titres ≥ 40. Cord blood serology showed HI titres ≥ 40 for 11/17 (65%) infants born to mothers with BMI ≥ 30 compared to 30/35 (86%) infants delivered by mothers with BMI < 30 kg/m2. Conclusions: A high BMI did not impair influenza vaccine antibody responses in pregnant women at 1 month post-vaccination. However, at 6 months post-vaccination, and in the cord blood samples, the percentages maintaining HI titre ≥ 40 were lower for obese women than for non-obese pregnant women. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition)
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27 pages, 1709 KiB  
Article
Safety, Immunogenicity and Protective Activity of a Modified Trivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine for Combined Protection Against Seasonal Influenza and COVID-19 in Golden Syrian Hamsters
by Ekaterina Stepanova, Victoria Matyushenko, Daria Mezhenskaya, Ekaterina Bazhenova, Tatiana Kotomina, Alexandra Rak, Svetlana Donina, Anna Chistiakova, Arina Kostromitina, Vlada Novitskaya, Polina Prokopenko, Kristina Rodionova, Konstantin Sivak, Kirill Kryshen, Valery Makarov, Larisa Rudenko and Irina Isakova-Sivak
Vaccines 2024, 12(12), 1300; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12121300 - 21 Nov 2024
Viewed by 200
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 are currently cocirculating with similar seasonality, and both pathogens are characterized by a high mutational rate which results in reduced vaccine effectiveness and thus requires regular updating of vaccine compositions. Vaccine formulations combining seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 strains [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 are currently cocirculating with similar seasonality, and both pathogens are characterized by a high mutational rate which results in reduced vaccine effectiveness and thus requires regular updating of vaccine compositions. Vaccine formulations combining seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 strains can be considered promising and cost-effective tools for protection against both infections. Methods: We used a licensed seasonal trivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (3×LAIV) as a basis for the development of a modified 3×LAIV/CoV-2 vaccine, where H1N1 and H3N2 LAIV strains encoded an immunogenic cassette enriched with conserved T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2, whereas a B/Victoria lineage LAIV strain was unmodified. The trivalent LAIV/CoV-2 composition was compared to the classical 3×LAIV in the golden Syrian hamster model. Animals were intranasally immunized with the mixtures of the vaccine viruses, twice, with a 3-week interval. Immunogenicity was assessed on day 42 of the study, and the protective effect was established by infecting vaccinated hamsters with either influenza H1N1, H3N2 or B viruses or with SARS-CoV-2 strains of the Wuhan, Delta and Omicron lineages. Results: Both the classical 3×LAIV and 3×LAIV/CoV-2 vaccine compositions induced similar levels of serum antibodies specific to all three influenza strains, which resulted in comparable levels of protection against challenge from either influenza strain. Protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge was more pronounced in the 3×LAIV/CoV-2-immunized hamsters compared to the classical 3×LAIV group. These data were accompanied by the higher magnitude of virus-specific cellular responses detected by ELISPOT in the modified trivalent LAIV group. Conclusions: The modified trivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine encoding the T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 can be considered a promising tool for combined protection against seasonal influenza and COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition)
16 pages, 1793 KiB  
Article
A Polysaccharide-Based Oral-Vaccine Delivery System and Adjuvant for the Influenza Virus Vaccine
by Chaitanya K. Valiveti, Mrigendra Rajput, Neelu Thakur, Tooba Momin, Malabika Bhowmik and Hemachand Tummala
Vaccines 2024, 12(10), 1121; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12101121 - 29 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1366
Abstract
Influenza virus enters the host body through the mucosal surface of the respiratory tract. An efficient immune response at the mucosal site can interfere with virus entry and prevent infection. However, formulating oral vaccines and eliciting an effective mucosal immune response including at [...] Read more.
Influenza virus enters the host body through the mucosal surface of the respiratory tract. An efficient immune response at the mucosal site can interfere with virus entry and prevent infection. However, formulating oral vaccines and eliciting an effective mucosal immune response including at respiratory mucosa presents numerous challenges including the potential degradation of antigens by acidic gastric fluids and the risk of antigen dilution and dispersion over a large surface area of the gut, resulting in minimal antigen uptake by the immune cells. Additionally, oral mucosal vaccines have to overcome immune tolerance in the gut. To address the above challenges, in the current study, we evaluated inulin acetate (InAc) nanoparticles (NPs) as a vaccine adjuvant and antigen delivery system for oral influenza vaccines. InAc was developed as the first polysaccharide polymer-based TLR4 agonist; when tailored as a nanoparticulate vaccine delivery system, it enhanced antigen delivery to dendritic cells and induced a strong cellular and humoral immune response. This study compared the efficacy of InAc-NPs as a delivery system for oral vaccines with Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs, utilizing influenza A nucleoprotein (Inf-A) as an antigen. InAc-NPs effectively protected the encapsulated antigen in both simulated gastric (pH 1.1) and intestinal fluids (pH 6.8). Moreover, InAc-NPs facilitated enhanced antigen delivery to macrophages, compared to PLGA-NPs. Oral vaccination studies in Balb/c mice revealed that InAc-Inf-A NPs significantly boosted the levels of Influenza virus-specific IgG and IgA in serum, as well as total and virus-specific IgA in the intestines and lungs. Furthermore, mice vaccinated with InAc-Inf-A-NPs exhibited notably higher hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers at mucosal sites compared to those receiving the antigen alone. Overall, our study underscores the efficacy of InAc-NPs in safeguarding vaccine antigens post-oral administration, enhancing antigen delivery to antigen-presenting cells, and eliciting higher virus-neutralizing antibodies at mucosal sites following vaccination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition)
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20 pages, 6998 KiB  
Article
Immunity and Protective Efficacy of a Plant-Based Tobacco Mosaic Virus-like Nanoparticle Vaccine against Influenza a Virus in Mice
by Adthakorn Madapong, Erika M. Petro-Turnquist, Richard J. Webby, Alison A. McCormick and Eric A. Weaver
Vaccines 2024, 12(10), 1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12101100 - 26 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1216
Abstract
Background: The rapid production of influenza vaccines is crucial to meet increasing pandemic response demands. Here, we developed plant-made vaccines comprising centralized consensus influenza hemagglutinin (HA-con) proteins (H1 and H3 subtypes) conjugated to a modified plant virus, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) nanoparticle (TMV-HA-con). [...] Read more.
Background: The rapid production of influenza vaccines is crucial to meet increasing pandemic response demands. Here, we developed plant-made vaccines comprising centralized consensus influenza hemagglutinin (HA-con) proteins (H1 and H3 subtypes) conjugated to a modified plant virus, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) nanoparticle (TMV-HA-con). Methods: We compared immune responses and protective efficacy against historical H1 or H3 influenza A virus infections among TMV-HA-con, HA-con protein combined with AddaVax™ adjuvant, and whole-inactivated virus vaccine (Fluzone®). Results: Immunogenicity studies demonstrated robust IgG, IgM, and IgA responses in the TMV-HA-con and HA-con protein vaccinated groups, with relatively low induction of interferon (IFN)-γ+ T-cell responses across all vaccinated groups. The TMV-HA-con and HA-con protein groups displayed partial protection (100% and 80% survival) with minimal weight loss following challenge with two H1N1 strains. The HA-con protein group exhibited 80% and 100% survival against two H3 strains, whereas the TMV-HA-con groups showed reduced protection (20% survival). The Fluzone® group conferred 20–100% survival against two H1N1 strains and one H3N1 strain, but did not protect against H3N2 infection. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that TMV-HA and HA-con protein vaccines with adjuvant induce protective immune responses against influenza A virus infections. Furthermore, our results underscore the potential of plant-based production using TMV-like nanoparticles for developing influenza A virus candidate vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recent Development of Influenza Vaccine: 2nd Edition)
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