Influenza Vaccine: An Engineering Vision from Virological Importance to Production

Abstract

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) every year, millions of people are affected by flu. Flu is a disease caused by influenza viruses. For preventing this, seasonal influenza vaccinations are widely considered the most efficient way to protect against the negative effects of the flu. To date, there is no “one-size-fits-all” vaccine that can be effective all over the world to protect against all seasonal or pandemic influenza virus types. Because influenza virus transforms its genetic structure and it can emerges as immunogenically new (antigenic drift) which causes epidemics or new virus subtype (antigenic shift) which causes pandemics. As a result, annual revaccination or new subtype viral vaccine development is required. Currently, three types of vaccines (inactivated, live attenuated, and recombinant) are approved in different countries. These can be named “conventional influenza vaccines” and their production are based on eggs or cell culture. Although, there is good effort to develop new influenza vaccines for broader and longer period of time protection. In this sense these candidate vaccines are called “universal influenza vaccines”. In this article, after we mentioned the short history of flu then virus morphology and infection, we explained the diseases caused by the influenza virus in humans. Afterward, we explained in detail the production methods of available influenza vaccines, types of bioreactors used in cell culture based production, conventional and new vaccine types, and development strategies for better vaccines.

Affinity Peptide-Tethered Suspension Hydrogel Sensor for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Influenza Virus

“…The IAV possesses two surface proteins called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) . HA, as the predominant influenza antigen, is commonly used for diagnosis of influenza infection by measuring its level.…”

“…The IAV possesses two surface proteins called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). 28 HA, as the predominant influenza antigen, is commonly used for diagnosis of influenza infection by measuring its level. It is the most abundant surface antigen on the virus and plays a crucial role in viral infection by specifically binding to glycan receptors on the host cell.…”

Repeated vaccination with homologous influenza hemagglutinin broadens human antibody responses to unmatched flu viruses

“…Seasonal influenza vaccines are designed to elicit protective antibody responses against the viral strains predicted to dominate during an upcoming winter season (Comber et al, 2023; Fiore et al, 2009; Jordan et al, 2023; Sandor et al, 2021). The vaccine is typically trivalent or quadrivalent and aims to cover human-infecting influenza A viruses (IAV) and influenza B viruses (IBV) (Demirden et al, 2022; Reed et al, 2012; Soema et al, 2015). This has included an H1N1 vaccine strain for group 1 IAV, an H3N2 vaccine strain for group 2 IAV, and Yamagata and/or Victoria lineages for IBV.…”

M2e‐specific antibodies protect against influenza PR8 virus in an isotype and route dependent manner

“…Small‐molecule antiviral agents, such as neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors and polymerase acidic (PA) protein inhibitor, have been used for influenza treatment, but the emergence of drug‐resistant viruses reduced their effectiveness 3–6 . Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop universal vaccination or therapeutic strategies against influenza viruses of different subtypes 7,8 …”