New Vaccine Technology Shows Promise for Respiratory Virus Protection
Vaccines save millions of lives each year, but there is still a need for more efficient vaccines, especially for viral infections that start at mucosal surfaces. These infections are often not adequately protected by current vaccines, which are typically given intramuscularly or subcutaneously.
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the laboratory of Professor Jan Terje Andersen and collaborators report on a novel vaccine technology platform. This platform uses a subunit antigen genetically fused to albumin, a carrier that is actively transported across mucosal barriers by FcRn, a receptor found on mucosal epithelial cells.
The study found that when the albumin-antigen fusion vaccines were delivered intranasally to several different mouse strains, they induced both systemic and mucosal antigen-specific antibody responses. The mice were protected against challenges with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A. The vaccine platform also allowed for site-specific conjugation of adjuvants.
Importantly, the albumin-based intranasal vaccine platform demonstrated robust mucosal IgA antibody responses, outperforming intramuscularly administered mRNA vaccines and alternative intranasal vaccines with similar-sized carriers.
This study suggests that the needle-free, albumin-based vaccine platform may be attractive for designing vaccines against multiple respiratory pathogens. The researchers note that their strategy is based on an in-depth understanding of the complex biology of FcRn and engineered a human albumin variant with increased ability to engage the receptor for enhanced active transport across mucosal barriers.
The study was conducted in carefully designed pre-clinical in vivo systems, taking into account important cross-species binding differences. The results are encouraging and could pave the way for vaccines that provide not only systemic immunity but also protection at the actual site of infection.
For more information, refer to the study by Aina Karen Anthi et al., published in Nature Communications (2025).
Reference : https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-intranasal-vaccine-technology-broad-respiratory.html
