Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more
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H1N1 vaccine

H1N1 2009 virus may point way to universal flu vaccine

Emory MedicalHorizon

Scientists at Emory and the University of Chicago have discovered that the 2009 H1N1 flu virus provides excellent antibody protection. This may be a milestone discovery in the search for a universal flu vaccine.

Researchers took blood samples from patients infected with the 2009 H1N1 strain and developed antibodies in cell culture. Some of the antibodies were broadly protective and could provide protection from the H1N1 viruses that circulated over the past 10 years in addition to the 1918 pandemic flu virus and even avian influenza or bird flu (H5N1).

The antibodies protected mice from a lethal viral dose, even 60 hours post-infection.

The research is published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Some of the antibodies stuck to the “stalk” region, or hemagglutinin (H in H1N1) protein part of the virus. Because this part of the virus doesn’t change as much as other regions, scientists have proposed to make it the basis for a vaccine that could provide broader protection. The antibodies could guide researchers in designing a vaccine that gives people long-lasting protection against a wide spectrum of flu viruses.

The paper’s first author, Emory School of Medicine’s Jens Wrammert, PhD, says “Our data shows that infection with the 2009 pandemic influenza strain could induce broadly protective antibodies that are very rarely seen after seasonal flu infections or flu shots. These findings show that these types of antibodies can be induced in humans, if the immune system has the right stimulation, and suggest that a pan-influenza vaccine might be feasible.”

Rafi Ahmed, PhD, director of the Emory Vaccine Center, and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, is co-senior author of the publication, along with Patrick Wilson at University of Chicago.

Multimedia

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  • See YouTube for video commentary by Dr. Ahmed
  • For access to raw video for media purposes, contact Kathi Baker, kobaker@emory.edu, 404-727-9371 Office, 404-686-5500 Pager (ID 14455), 404-227-1871 Mobile.

Audio

Posted on January 10, 2011 by admin in Immunology 2 Comments

2009 H1N1 flu strain could give clues to universal flu vaccine?

Last year, when the H1N1 flu epidemic was a major public health concern, a relatively low proportion of individuals getting sick were elderly, compared to previous flu epidemics. To explain this, scientists hypothesized that flu strains that circulated decades ago were similar enough to the novel swine-origin H1N1 strain to provide some immune protection.

A universal flu vaccine would eliminate the guesswork associated with the yearly flu shot

Now, researchers at Emory’s Influenza Pathogenesis & Immunology Research Center have directly tested that hypothesis in mice, and it holds up. Exposure of mice to flu strains that circulated in 1947 or 1934 induced “robust cross-protective immune responses” and can protect them against a lethal challenge with 2009 H1N1 virus, they report in Journal of Immunology.

Ioanna Skountzou and Dimitrios Koutsananos are co-first authors of the paper.

The Emory team, led by Joshy Jacob, also reports that antibodies produced in response to the 2009 H1N1 flu strain exhibit broad cross-reactivity — they react with other H1N1 strains as well as against H3N2 flu strains. They write:

The fact that the 2009 H1N1 virus can induce such cross-reactive Abs raises the intriguing possibility that viruses such as A/California/04/2009 can be used for vaccines to induce broadly cross-reactive humoral immune responses against influenza viruses. Identifying the mechanism behind this broad reactivity may enable us to design broadly cross-reactive universal influenza vaccines.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Tony Fauci, when he was at Emory for the H1N1 flu conference in April, discussed the idea of a universal flu vaccine:

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Quinn Eastman in Immunology Leave a comment

Moving flu vaccine research forward

The scientists in the lab of Richard Compans, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Emory, are hard at work, imagining the unimaginable: A time when patients can self-administer flu vaccines. A time when vaccination does not require exposure to inactive viruses. A time when a universal vaccine could protect from all varieties of influenza: swine, avian, seasonal and strains still emerging.

Richard Compans, PhD (right), with colleague Mark Prausnitz, PhD, from Georgia Tech

But it’s not just hope that motivates them as they work. Emory’s scientists are fighting the clock against another possible future: a time of pandemic and uncontrollable virus mutation. The recent emergence of H1N1 and H5N1, known colloquially as swine flu and avian flu, have added an even greater sense of urgency to their task.

“The H5N1—the virus derived from avian species—has a 60 percent mortality,” says Emory microbiologist Sang-Moo Kang, PhD. Yet that strain of influenza hasn’t resulted in many human deaths, because, so far, avian flu spreads only to humans who are in contact with infected birds.

Read more

Posted on April 12, 2010 by admin in Immunology Leave a comment

Importance of flu vaccinations for pregnant women

Pregnant women are at the top of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s priority list when it comes to vaccinating people against the novel H1N1 flu virus this year. Not only should pregnant women receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, they should also receive the usual seasonal flu vaccine, say Emory experts.

Staying healthy in pregnancy

Staying healthy in pregnancy

Because pregnancy weakens the immune system, a pregnant woman who gets any type of flu has a greater chance for serious health problems. Pregnant women who contract H1N1 flu are more likely to be admitted to the hospital, compared with other people in general that get H1N1 flu. Pregnant women are also more likely to have serious illness, including pneumonia and death from this particular novel strain.

Both vaccines are made with a dead, or inactivated, flu virus and are given as an injection, usually in the arm. The other type of flu vaccine is a nasal spray and is not recommended for pregnant women. The nasal spray vaccine is safe for women after they have delivered, even if they are nursing. In addition to immunizations, pregnant women also need to prepare for breastfeeding by inquiring if they can get a breast pump covered by insurance.

A recent study by Emory researchers found that seasonal flu vaccination of pregnant women can benefit both mothers and infants, says Kevin Ault, MD, associate professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory.

Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, assistant professor of global health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, served as senior author on the report, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The study shows that there is substantial evidence that vaccination is not only safe for pregnant women but that it is critical for protecting women and their infants against serious complications from the flu.

Other members of the research team included Ault and Carlos del Rio, MD, professor and chair in the Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

The seasonal flu shot has been given to millions of pregnant women over several decades . Flu shots have not been shown to cause any harm to pregnant women or their babies. The 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine is being made in the same way and by the same manufacturers as the seasonal flu vaccine, explains Ault.

Ault also serves as principal investigator of a seasonal flu vaccine clinical trial underway at Emory Vaccine Center involving pregnant women.

Posted on October 29, 2009 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment