Development of a Universal Epitope-Based Influenza Vaccine and Evaluation of Its Effectiveness in Mice

Abstract

Vaccination is an effective and economically viable means of protection against the influenza virus, but due to rapid viral evolution, modern seasonal vaccines are not effective enough. Next-generation vaccines are designed to provide protection against a wide range of influenza virus strains, including pandemic variants. In our work, we made an epitope-based universal vaccine, rMVA-k1-k2, against the influenza virus based on the modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector and using our own algorithms to select epitopes from conserved fragments of the NP, M1 and HA proteins of influenza A and B. We show that double immunization protects mice with a 67% or greater efficiency against viral influenza pneumonia when infected with various strains of the H1N1, H2N2, H3N2 and H5N1 subtypes of influenza A. In animals, the level of protection provided by the rMVA-k1-k2 vaccine was comparable to that provided by the universal M001 and MVA-NP+M1 (Invictus) vaccines, which have shown success in clinical trials, against strains of the H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes.

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“…Epitope-based influenza vaccines target specific antigenic sites on the influenza virus that are conserved and immunogenic regions, reducing the impact of antigenic variation and potentially providing broader and longer-lasting protection against diverse influenza strains [ 71 ]. Epitope-based influenza vaccines can stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against critical epitopes on the viral proteins [ 72 ]. Potential targets include conserved regions of the HA, NP, M1, and M2 proteins of influenza viruses [ 71 , 72 ].…”

“…Epitope-based influenza vaccines can stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against critical epitopes on the viral proteins [ 72 ]. Potential targets include conserved regions of the HA, NP, M1, and M2 proteins of influenza viruses [ 71 , 72 ]. Several epitope-based influenza vaccine candidates are in various stages of development, such as “M001 (BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel), Flu-V (hVivo, London, UK), FP-01.1 (Immune Targeting Systems Ltd., London, UK), and rMVA-k1-k2 (Federal Medical–Biological Agency, Moscow, Russia)” [ 72 ].…”