Researchers seeking H7N9 influenza vaccine uncover immune system camouflage

Researchers working to develop an avian influenza A (H7N9) vaccine have discovered the virus uses a kind of camouflage to avoid the immune system and to evade positive results in vaccination. H7N9 caused a serious outbreak in China in 2013. Since that time, scientists have been concerned about its high rate of lethality as well as its pandemic potential, making developing an H7N9 vaccine a top priority. Unfortunately, none of the vaccine candidates has produced strong immune responses to counteract the virus. Researchers have discovered this is because the virus uses immune camouflage to remain undetected. “The original observation of low H7N9 T-cell epitope content was made before any data were available on vaccine efficacy,” Anne De Groot, EpiVax Inc. CEO and senior author and director of the Institute for Immunology and Informatics at the University of Rhode Island, said. “It turns out that we were absolutely correct. By comparison with H1N1 and...