A study involving 50 participants found that a two-dose immunization with an inactivated H5N1 influenza virus adjuvanted with the compound AS03 engaged both memory B cell immune responses and naïve B cells, and that the immune response engaged by the first dose was directed against regions of the H5 hemagglutinin stem common to multiple strains, findings with implications for the development of a universal influenza vaccine, according to the authors.
Article #19-06613: "Adjuvanted H5N1 influenza vaccine enhances both cross-reactive memory B cell and strain-specific naïve B cell responses in humans," by Ali H. Ellebedy et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Rafi Ahmed, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; e-mail: rahmed@emory.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences