Significance
Despite decades of research, we lack an effective vaccine against influenza, a deadly virus that costs the United States nearly $90 billion annually. Current strategies do not translate into highly protective immunity against circulating and novel influenza strains. Here, we demonstrate that a herpes simplex viral (HSV) vector expressing hemagglutinin can be used to elicit a protective response against influenza. The efficacy of this vector is not abrogated by preexisting immunity to HSV, protects against lethal HSV challenge, and elicits highly functional FcγRIV-binding antibodies that can activate immune cell effector function. Expanding the use of ΔgD-2 as a viral vector in general could generate vaccines that are highly protective, quickly synthesized, and simultaneously effective against multiple pathogens.
With the advent of next-generation sequencing platforms, genome sequencing of viruses can be performed in a relatively shorter time frame in even the most austere conditions. Ultralong read sequencing platforms, such as Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT), have made it possible to capture the full-length genome of DNA viruses as a single read.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.