Secret to beating flu fast could be found inside ourselves: Deakin scientist

According to Deakin School of Medicine Associate Professor John Stambas, increasing a naturally-produced enzyme may be the secret to accelerating our immune responses following influenza infection, a virus responsible for up to 3,500 deaths and 40,000 hospitalisations in Australia each year.

"The flu shot offers very good protection against seasonal virus strains, however mismatches between the circulating strain and the vaccine occur from time-to-time, leading to a reduction in its efficacy," he said.

"That's why our research focuses on the host, finding a way for humans to harness an enzyme they already possess to fight back and clear the virus quickly."

In a recent series of experiments, Associate Professor Stambas showed that mice lacking the ability to express an enzyme known as ADAMTS5 showed increased signs of disease when compared to normal control mice.

"We believe this is due to the fact that the ADAMTS5 enzyme is not degrading its target protein substrate (versican) efficiently, making it difficult for immune cells to move and clear the virus," Associate Professor Stambas said.

"We find that a subset of white blood cells involved in clearing infection gets trapped in the lymph node closest the lung. As a result, mice have higher levels of virus in their lungs, lose more weight and their immune responses are impaired."

"The next steps will be testing if we can administer or express higher levels of ADAMTS5 to help speed up cell movement and improve immunity to viruses," he said.

"Hopefully this will add another option to the arsenal in our fight against the flu."

The flu virus spreads easily from person to person through infected droplets in the air and by hands.

Death following infection with seasonal flu strains can occur in rare instances, especially in vulnerable individuals (the very young and elderly) as a result of viral pneumonia or from secondary bacterial infections.

Associate Professor Stambas' report on his research findings, "ADAMTS5 is a Critical Regulator of Virus-Specific T Cell Immunity", was published today in PLoS Biology.