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Robert de Vries Associate Professor Chemical Biology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Science, Utrecht UniversityABSTRACT:
Seasonal influenza viruses are constantly evolving to escape our immune system, forcing regular updates to flu vaccines. One of the biggest challenges comes from the H3N2 influenza strain, which has changed so much over time that it no longer behaves normally in standard laboratory tests used for vaccine development. These viruses have lost the ability to bind to red blood cells from turkeys, a commonly employed species in flu surveillance, making it nearly impossible to track viral evolution and select effective vaccines.
We uncovered why this happens. Modern H3N2 viruses now prefer highly specialized sugar molecules, called glycans, that are abundant in human airways but missing from standard laboratory tests. To solve this problem, we developed a “glycan remodeling” technique that biochemically redesigns red blood cells to display the right human-like receptors. Once modified, modern influenza viruses could interact with these cells, restoring a hallmark, WHO-approved test used worldwide to evaluate vaccine effectiveness.
The work provides new insight into how influenza viruses adapt to humans and offers a practical strategy to improve global flu surveillance and vaccine design.
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