tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Influenza virus remains a significant cause of human mortality and morbidity, and particularly virulent strains such as H7N9 are associated with greater adverse patient outcomes despite available treatments. Current flu vaccines use inactivated virus antigens to provoke antibody production, and infections are also therapeutically treated with neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir. This work instead tested an antibody to broadly target HA in H7N9 and other virus strains, for use as a pre- or post-infection treatment. The authors first used computational methods to design the VIS410 antibody candidate based on its ability to bind HAs from multiple virus strains. In vitro experiments confirmed predicted binding affinities. In an initial set of animal experiments, one-time therapeutic administration of VIS410 increased survival in mice given a lethal dose of the H3N2 strain. In a mouse model of lethal H7N9 challenge, treatment with VIS410 alone or with daily administration of oseltamivir increased survival when compared to oseltamivir treatment alone. In a separate murine model of sublethal H7N9 challenge, mice prophylactically given VIS410 in combination with twice daily oseltamivir showed lower lung cytokine levels than those given mock treatment.
http://www.2minutemedicine.com/novel-human-antibody-protects-mice-from-h7n9-flu-virus-preclinical/
http://www.2minutemedicine.com/novel-human-antibody-protects-mice-from-h7n9-flu-virus-preclinical/