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Conventional influenza vaccines fail to confer broad protection against diverse influenza A viruses with pandemic potential. Efforts to develop a universal influenza virus vaccine include refocusing immunity towards the highly conserved stalk domain of the influenza virus surface glycoprotein, hemagglutinin (HA). We constructed a non-replicating adenoviral (Ad) vector, encoding a secreted form of H1 HA, to evaluate HA stalk-focused immunity. The Ad5_H1 vaccine was tested in mice for its ability to elicit broad, cross-reactive protection against homologous, heterologous, and heterosubtypic lethal challenge in a single-shot immunization regimen. Ad5_H1 elicited hemagglutination inhibition (HI+) active antibodies (Abs), which conferred 100% sterilizing protection from homologous H1N1 challenge. Furthermore, Ad5_H1 rapidly induced H1-stalk-specific Abs with Fc-mediated effector function activity, in addition to stimulating both CD4+ and CD8+ stalk-specific T cell responses. This phenotype of immunity provided 100% protection from lethal challenge with a head-mismatched, reassortant influenza virus bearing a chimeric HA, cH6/1, in a stalk-mediated manner. Most importantly, 100% protection from mortality following lethal challenge with a heterosubtypic avian influenza virus, H5N1, was observed following a single immunization with Ad5_H1. In conclusion, Ad-based influenza vaccines can elicit significant breadth of protection in naive animals and could be considered for pandemic preparedness and stockpiling.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.01.011

Type

Journal article

Journal

Mol Ther

Publication Date

04/05/2022

Volume

30

Pages

2024 - 2047

Keywords

adenoviral, adenovirus, hemagglutinin, heterosubtypic, immunogenicity, influenza, stalk, stem, universal vaccine, vaccine, vector, Adenoviridae, Animals, Antibodies, Viral, Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus, Hemagglutinins, Humans, Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype, Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype, Influenza A virus, Influenza Vaccines, Influenza, Human, Mice, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Orthomyxoviridae Infections