(Press-News.org) ATLANTA — Influenza hemagglutinin subunit vaccines are more effective and offer better cross protection against various influenza virus challenges when combined with a mucosal adjuvant that enhances the body’s immune response, according to a study by researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.
The study published in the journal ACS Nano shows that immune cell-derived extracellular vesicles, specifically those from mature bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (which are crucial for immune responses), rather than those from immature dendritic cells, are potent mucosal adjuvants for influenza hemagglutinin vaccines.
The influenza hemagglutinin subunit vaccine is a type of influenza vaccine that primarily contains the surface protein hemagglutinin of the influenza virus. Mucosal adjuvants are substances that can enhance the body’s immune response to foreign materials in the mucosa, such as the surface of the respiratory tract, study authors explained.
Existing seasonal influenza vaccines have limited effectiveness against evolved virus strains, so next-generation, cross-protective influenza vaccines are urgently needed. Recombinant protein subunit vaccines have gained attention in vaccine development due to their safety, ease of large-scale manufacturing and affordability. Protein subunit vaccines can be designed to target specific pathogen components, leading to more focused immune responses.
Studies have found that mucosal immunization is a promising strategy against respiratory infectious diseases because it helps prevent the infection and transmission of respiratory pathogens and exhibits potential cross protection. However, the effectiveness of protein vaccines administered mucosally is limited, so there’s a need for safe and effective mucosal adjuvants. This study investigated the potential of extracellular vesicles derived from mature dendritic cells as mucosal adjuvants for influenza hemagglutinin vaccines.
Prior to this study, the mucosal adjuvant potential of extracellular vesicles derived from mature dendritic cells and the underlying mechanisms of action have been unknown.
“Immune cell-derived extracellular vesicles, which play crucial roles in intercellular communication and modulating biological responses, are potent mucosal adjuvants for influenza hemagglutinin vaccines,” said Bao-Zhong Wang, senior author of the study and a Distinguished University Professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.
“These vesicles exhibit intriguing immunostimulatory activity both in vitro and in vivo,” Wang said. “Specifically, they effectively activated antigen-presenting cells, macrophages and B cells in vitro, and promoted enhanced recruitment of airway immune cells, early lymphocyte activation and robust germinal center formation in mice.”
The study found that intranasal immunization of mice with the influenza hemagglutinin vaccine plus the extracellular vesicle adjuvant from mature bone marrow-derived dendritic cells elicited significant, cross-reactive, and multifaceted humoral and cellular immune responses at both systemic and mucosal sites, conferring complete protection against homologous and heterologous influenza virus challenges.
The researchers pointed out that extracellular vesicles derived from mature dendritic cells have gained significant attention in immunotherapy and vaccine development because they have a variety of immunologically active molecules crucial for effective presentation of antigens (foreign substances that induces an immune response in the body), as well as cell adhesion and fusion.
“These findings underscore the potential of extracellular vesicles from mature bone marrow-derived dendritic cells as a promising adjuvant or immunomodulatory target for the development of mucosal vaccines,” said Chunhong Dong, first author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State. “Given their biocompatibility and solid adjuvanticity, mature bone marrow-derived dendritic cells represent a promising adjuvant candidate for mucosal vaccine development.”
Additional authors of the study include Lai Wei, Wandi Zhu, Joo Kyung Kim, Ye Wang, Priscilla Omotara and Arini Arsana of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.
The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
To read the study, visit https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.5c08831.
END
Novel flu vaccine adjuvant improves protection against influenza viruses, study finds
2025-07-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Manipulation of light at the nanoscale helps advance biosensing
2025-07-01
Traditional medical tests often require clinical samples to be sent off-site for analysis in a time-intensive and expensive process. Point-of-care diagnostics are instead low cost, easy-to-use, and rapid tests performed at the site of patient care. Recently, researchers at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology reported new and optimized techniques to develop better biosensors for the early detection of disease biomarkers.
People have long been fascinated with iridescence of peacock feathers, appearing to change color as light hits them from different angles. With ...
New mechanism discovered in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis: YWHAB restriction drives stemness and chemoresistance
2025-07-01
A recent study published in Genes & Diseases has unveiled a novel mechanism by which the restriction of YWHAB-mediated YAP cytoplasmic retention plays a crucial role in maintaining stemness and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis (OCPM). Researchers have found that the down-regulation of YWHAB in OCPM cells promotes the activation of YAP signaling, enhancing the cancer cells' ability to resist chemotherapy and maintain stem-like characteristics. This discovery may lead to innovative therapeutic strategies targeting the YWHAB-YAP pathway to ...
New study links blood metabolites and immune cells to increased risk of urolithiasis
2025-07-01
A recent study published in Genes & Diseases reveals new insights into the relationship between immune cell characteristics, blood metabolites, and the risk of urolithiasis. Using Mendelian randomization (MR) and mediation analysis, the research highlights how genetically predicted blood metabolites mediate the association between specific immune cell profiles and the development of urinary stones. The findings shed light on potential pathogenic mechanisms and suggest novel therapeutic targets for this widespread and recurrent condition.
Urolithiasis, ...
Pyruvate identified as a promising therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis by targeting cytosolic phospholipase A2
2025-07-01
A groundbreaking study published in Genes & Diseases has revealed that exogenous pyruvate significantly alleviates the symptoms of ulcerative colitis (UC) by targeting cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). This discovery opens new avenues for the treatment of UC, which remains a chronic inflammatory bowel disease with limited therapeutic options. The study shows that pyruvate can suppress the TNFα/NFκB signaling pathway, which is pivotal in driving inflammation, thereby offering a novel approach to mitigating UC symptoms.
Ulcerative colitis is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation, leading ...
New insights into the clinical impact of IKBKG mutations: Understanding the mechanisms behind rare immunodeficiency syndromes
2025-07-01
A recent study published in Genes & Diseases explores the clinical implications of loss-of-function mutations in IKBKG/NEMO, a key regulator in the NF-κB signaling pathway. These mutations are linked to a range of rare and often severe genetic disorders, including Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP), Anhidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia with Immunodeficiency (EDA-ID), Immunodeficiency (ID), and NEMO Deleted Exon 5 Autoinflammatory Syndrome (NDAS). The research aims to provide a comprehensive review of the diverse clinical manifestations ...
Displays, imaging and sensing: New blue fluorophore breaks efficiency records in both solids and solutions
2025-07-01
Images
A new blue fluorescent molecule set new top emission efficiencies in both solid and liquid states, according to a University of Michigan-led study that could pave the way for applications in technology and medicine.
Able to absorb light and emit it at lower energy levels, fluorescent molecules called fluorophores glow in OLED displays and help doctors and scientists figure out what's happening in cells and tissues. They need to be solid in displays and many sensing applications, but liquids are typically preferred for biological uses. ...
Sugar, the hidden thermostat in plants
2025-07-01
For a decade, scientists have believed that plants sensed temperature mainly through specialized proteins, and mainly at night when the air is cool. New research suggests that during the day, another signal takes over. Sugar, produced in sunlight, helps plants detect heat and decide when to grow.
The study, led by Meng Chen, a University of California, Riverside professor of cell biology, shows that plants rely on multiple heat-sensing systems, and that sugar plays a central and previously unrecognized role in daytime temperature response. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reshape a long-standing view of how plants ...
Personality can explain why some CEOs earn higher salaries
2025-07-01
The lucrative pay for American CEOs often makes headlines. In 1965, CEO compensation was 22 times higher than the pay of an average worker. In recent years, CEOs have been paid 344 times more than the people who work for them.
The personality of a CEO is one factor driving the increase in executive compensation, according to a new study from a team of researchers that includes Sam M. Walton College of Business strategic management professor Jason Ridge.
Leaders with a Machiavellian personality, someone who is self-interested, unemotional and manipulative, earn more than $1.5 million a year in additional pay. While ...
This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI
2025-07-01
While the current generation of artificial intelligence chatbots still flub basic facts, the systems answer with such confidence that they’re often more persuasive than humans.
Adults, even those such as lawyers with deep domain knowledge, still regularly fall for this. But spotting errors in text is especially difficult for children, since they often don’t have the contextual knowledge to sniff out falsehoods.
University of Washington researchers developed the game AI Puzzlers to show kids an area where AI systems still typically and blatantly ...
Study suggests remembrances of dead played role in rise of architecture in Andean region
2025-07-01
By Greg Watry, UC Davis
Archaeologists have long thought that monumental architecture — large, human-built structures that emphasize visibility — were products of societies with power structures, including social hierarchy, inequality and controlled labor forces. But this notion is being questioned as researchers uncover evidence that hunter-gatherer groups also built such structures.
In new research published June 24 in the journal Antiquity, University of California researchers report evidence of monumental structures built by hunter-gatherer groups at Kaillachuro, a collection of burial mounds located in the Titicaca Basin of the ...