Experimental Vaccine Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Elicits Strong Immune Response

August 1, 2019 • by Marc Airhart

After decades of research, an effective RSV vaccine now seems within reach

A patient receives a vaccination in the arm

An experimental vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), one of the leading causes of infectious disease deaths in infants, has shown early promise in a Phase 1 human clinical trial. A team of researchers, including The University of Texas at Austin's Jason McLellan, report today in the journal Science that one dose of their vaccine candidate elicited large increases in RSV-neutralizing antibodies that were sustained for several months.

Protein structures for the F protein in RSV

Before RSV begins infecting a cell, its F protein is in the shape shown on the left. During infection, it rearranges itself into the second shape. The new RSV vaccine was made by locking the F protein into the first shape so that the immune system could produce the best antibodies. McLellan and his colleagues determined these two structures in 2013. Image credit: Jason McLellan.

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