Following vaccination, the immune system is faced with a buffet of deactivated flu variants, mainly detecting a common viral protein that covers 80% of influenza A virions. This rapidly mutating protein is called hemagglutinin, and it\u2019s part of the reason why we must rely on health organizations\u2019 data to ensure the right cocktail of variants is developed into a vaccine that can protect against the dominant strains of the year.<\/p>\n
However, when a new variant dominates flu season, like swine flu in 2009 and subclade K in 2025, the health repercussions can be severe. Instead of targeting hemagglutinin, researchers have been working on a vaccine that immunizes the body to a different viral protein: M2. This protein is conserved across influenza A viruses and is a key component of viral replication, making it less likely to mutate. Because hemagglutinin is more abundant on virions, the body doesn\u2019t naturally target M2, so the researchers set about creating particles that only present M2, leaving the immune system no choice.<\/p>\n
\u2018Universal vaccine\u2019 may provide protection against respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens<\/a><\/p>\n Researchers have invented a new vaccine that protects mice from respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens \u2013 the closest yet to a universal vaccine.<\/p>\n To develop the M2 vaccine, the team genetically modified baker\u2019s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to produce large quantities of the M2 protein, which covers particles \u2013 similar to the size of virions \u2013 that bud from the yeast. After incubating the yeast in nutrient-rich liquid, the researchers then lightly washed the yeast with mild chemicals to remove the cell walls before collecting the virus-like particles.<\/p>\n The yeast manufacturing system is much faster than the traditional production method, which uses chicken eggs and takes 6 months. This would allow researchers to respond quicker to an M2 variant should one emerge, improving pandemic response time.<\/p>\n When tested in vivo, the M2 vaccines successfully immunized mice against three flu strains.<\/p>\n More research is needed before we see these vaccines being used in humans, but the technology has already been licensed to a biotech company specializing in vaccine development. The research team will next explore how long M2-vaccinated mice remain immune to flu: \u201cOur goal is to develop a broadly protective and more effective flu vaccine, so you don\u2019t have to get a flu shot every season,\u201d concluded\u00a0Fei Wen<\/a>, corresponding author of the study. \u201cEventually, with enough effort and research, we believe that you might need one shot to be protected for life.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Universal-vaccine-300x129.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n