Intranasal M2SR (M2-deficient Single Replication) Influenza Vaccine Induces Broadly Reactive Mucosal Antibody Production in Adults

J Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 16:jiae361. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae361. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Intranasal M2SR (M2-deficient Single Replication influenza virus) vaccine induces robust immune responses in animal models and human subjects. A high-throughput multiplexed platform was used to analyze hemagglutinin-specific mucosal antibody responses in adults after a single dose of H3N2 M2SR. Nasal swab specimens were analyzed for total and hemagglutinin-specific IgA. Significant, dose-dependent increases in mucosal antibody responses to vaccine-matched and drifted H3N2 hemagglutinin were observed in M2SR vaccinated subjects regardless of baseline serum and mucosal immune status. These data suggest that M2SR induces broadly cross-reactive mucosal immune responses which may provide better protection against drifted and newly emerging influenza strains.

Keywords: H3N2; IgA; Influenza; clinical trial; drift; intranasal; mucosal; vaccine.