Enhancement of antiviral T-cell responses for improved control of viral infection

 

Influenza viruses remain a global health concern, with millions of hospitalization cases and thousands of deaths reported annually. Moreover, as the current efficacy of the influenza virus vaccines is relatively poor, ranging from 20% to 60% protection, and as highly pathogenic strains continue to emerge rapidly, the development of novel therapeutic approaches for controlling influenza virus infections is urgently needed.

However, the diversity and rapid evolution of these viruses represent major challenges in the development of broad-spectrum therapies. The influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) is the primary virus surface glycoprotein, which plays a critical role in viral entry and is the primary target of current vaccination strategies and of the immune response to infection. A recently uncovered immune evasion mechanism mediated by HA involving the interaction with inhibitory receptors on T cells can suppress the immune response to infection. This project proposes to investigate this viral evasion mechanism and develop novel antibodies that prevent it.

This project was selected for funding during the second research competition of the Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program – Phase II (Communicable Diseases). The program is a partnership between IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Israel Science Foundation and the Azrieli Foundation.