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Flu

TWiV 571: Piwi koalas

27 October 2019 by Vincent Racaniello

The League of Extraordinary Virologists celebrate the eradication of wild poliovirus type 3, and consider the effectiveness of an influenza vaccine produced in insect cells, and how small RNAs are protecting the Koala germline from retroviral invasion.

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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

Filed Under: This Week in Virology Tagged With: baculovirus, endogenous retrovirus, Flu, Flublock, Flucelvax, germline, HA, influenza, influenza vaccine, insect cell, Koala, koala retrovirus, piRNA, transposon, viral, virology, virus, viruses

TWiV 396: Influenza viruses with Peter Palese

3 July 2016 by Vincent Racaniello

TWiVVincent speaks with Peter Palese about his illustrious career in virology, from early work on neuraminidases to universal influenza virus vaccines, on episode #396 of the science show This Week in Virology.

You can find TWiV #396 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below.

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Filed Under: This Week in Virology Tagged With: aerosol transmission, ferret, Flu, gain of function, H5N1, influenza, influenza virus, neuraminidase, relenza, swine flu, tamiflu, universal vaccine, vaccine, viral, virology, virus, viruses

TWiM 41: ICAAC live in San Francisco

13 September 2012 by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #41 of the science show This Week in Microbiology, Vincent and Michael travel to San Francisco for the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), where they meet with Bill, John, and Victor to discuss tuberculosis, monitoring infectious disease outbreaks with online data, and outside-the-box approaches to antibacterial therapy.

You can view video of this episode below, or download audio or video files at microbeworld.org.

 

Filed Under: This Week in Microbiology Tagged With: antibacterial, data, disease, Flu, healthmap, icaac, infectious, live, microbe, microbiology, outbreak, San Francisco, tb, therapy, tuberculosis

TWiV 103: Shots with LJ Tan

17 October 2010 by Vincent Racaniello

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and LJ Tan

On Episode 103 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Alan discuss influenza vaccines with LJ Tan of the American Medical Association.

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Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #103 (56 MB .mp3, 77 minutes)

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

  • The American Medical Association
  • Prevent Influenza Now
  • Vaccine injury claim reaches Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court divided on vaccine case
  • No narcolepsy link to flu vaccine
  • Letters read on TWiV 103

Weekly Science Picks

Alan – BioGene, an iApp
Vincent – The Vertical Farm by Dickson Despommier

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@microbe.tv or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

Filed Under: This Week in Virology Tagged With: adjuvant, Flu, influenza, lj tan, pandemic, podcast, TWiV, vaccine, viral, virology, virus

Universal influenza vaccines

13 October 2010 by Vincent Racaniello

The need to re-formulate the influenza virus vaccine in response to viral antigenic drift and shift makes for complex logistics of vaccine production and administration. Surveillance programs must be conducted each year to identify strains that are likely to predominate and cause disease. Wouldn’t it be simpler if a single vaccine could be developed that would confer protection against a broad range of viral strains? Results from the past year suggest that such a vaccine might be closer than previously thought.

The influenza viral HA protein consists of a globular head atop a stem that is embedded in the virion membrane (figure). Most protective antibodies are directed against the head of the HA molecule. Rare antibodies that block infection with a broad range of influenza virus strains are directed toward the conserved stalk of the viral surface glycoprotein HA. This observation was taken a step further by showing that sequential immunization with different viral HAs, or with HA lacking the globular head, induce broadly neutralizing antibodies. Peter Palese discussed these approaches on TWiV #102.

In another approach, neutralizing antibodies have been induced by immunizing first with plasmid DNA, followed by a boost with recombinant adenovirus encoding the HA protein. Mice were immunized first with plasmid DNA encoding an H1 HA from the 2006-2007 influenza season, then boosted with a recombinant adenovirus encoding the same HA protein. Sera from immunized mice neutralized strains of H1N1 influenza virus dating to 1934, as well as H2N2 and H5N1 viruses. When inoculated with a 1934 H1N1 virus, immunized mice were protected from lethal disease. Immunization of ferrets with a similar regimen also protected these animals from lethal disease. Broadly neutralizing antibodies were elicited in nonhuman primates by this prime-boost regimen.

Both the plasmid DNA and the recombinant adenovirus encoded the full-length HA protein, with both the globular head and fibrous stem. However, the broadly neutralizing and protective antibodies were directed against the stem. Anti-HA stem antibodies were also identified in monkeys that had been immunized with the prime-boost combination.

Why doesn’t the seasonal influenza vaccine elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies? These vaccines induce antibodies that almost exclusively bind the variable head of the HA, not the conserved stem. The reason probably lies in how the vaccines are prepared: virions are inactivated by treatment with detergent and formaldehyde, a process that destroys the particle. Consequently, the vaccine contains mainly HA and NA and not other components that can help shape a more diverse antibody repertoire. In contrast, it is known that plasmid-based priming can stimulate B cells to produce a more diverse set of antibodies.

The strategy of priming with plasmid DNA followed by boosting with recombinant adenovirus will likely be evaluated in clinical trials for the ability to protect against natural infection with influenza virus. The possibility of a broadly protective influenza virus vaccine that would be taken perhaps every 10-20 years is rapidly becoming a reality.

Wang TT, Tan GS, Hai R, Pica N, Petersen E, Moran TM, & Palese P (2010). Broadly protective monoclonal antibodies against H3 influenza viruses following sequential immunization with different hemagglutinins. PLoS pathogens, 6 (2) PMID: 20195520

Wei CJ, Boyington JC, McTamney PM, Kong WP, Pearce MB, Xu L, Andersen H, Rao S, Tumpey TM, Yang ZY, & Nabel GJ (2010). Induction of broadly neutralizing H1N1 influenza antibodies by vaccination. Science (New York, N.Y.), 329 (5995), 1060-4 PMID: 20647428

Filed Under: Basic virology, Information Tagged With: Flu, HA, headless HA, hemagglutinin, influenza, universal vaccine, vaccine, viral, virology, virus

TWiV 102: Catch me if you can in Munich

10 October 2010 by Vincent Racaniello

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Andrew Baker, Karl-Klaus Conzelmann, Peter Palese, and Katharina Eisenächer

Episode #102 of the podcast This Week in Virology is a conversation about the RNA sensor RIG-I, adenovirus gene therapy, a universal influenza vaccine, and rabies virus, recorded in Munich, Germany at the SFB455 symposium ‘Viral offense and immune defense’.

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Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #102 (67 MB .mp3, 95 minutes)

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

  • SFB455 Symposium scientific program
  • Letters read on TWiV 102
  • Virologists having fun (YouTube video)
  • Video of this episode – view below or download .mov (394 MB) or .wmv (506 MB)

Weekly Science Picks

Katharina – Deutsches Museum
Vincent – HHMI holiday lectures on science (thanks Judi!)

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@microbe.tv or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

Filed Under: This Week in Virology Tagged With: adenovirus, cardiovascular disease, Flu, gene therapy, influenza virus, innate immunity, mononegavirales, rabies, RIG-I, sfb455, vaccine, viral, virology, virus

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by Vincent Racaniello

Earth’s virology Professor
Questions? virology@virology.ws

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