Fighting the flu: The surprising power of a century-old vaccine for tuberculosis
As Canada鈥檚 flu season collides with record strep A cases and ongoing COVID-19 concerns, a new study is shedding light on our understanding of respiratory immune responses. Scholars from the Research Institute of the 不良研究所 Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have discovered a surprising facet about a century-old vaccine for tuberculosis, Bacillus Calmette Gu茅rin (BCG). The study, published in the journal , uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that extends the vaccine鈥檚 shield to combat influenza A virus鈥攖he most prevalent flu strain.
鈥淭he immune interactions involved here can 鈥榯rain鈥� the lungs, which are frequently exposed to infectious agents in the environment. If we can map out the protective immune pathways involved in the lungs, this will revolutionize our conceptual and clinical approaches in developing vaccines against infections, including emergent respiratory viruses,鈥� explains lead author Maziar Divangahi, a pulmonary immunologist, a senior scientist at the RI-MUHC, and a Professor of Medicine at 不良研究所. The discovery paves the way for future studies to assess whether BCG could be used to prevent other emergent viruses. Notably, research on the vaccine鈥檚 protection against COVID-19 has had promising results.
About the study
by Kim Tran et al. was published in Nature Immunology.
About 不良研究所聽
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 不良研究所 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 不良研究所 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It鈥痠s a world-renowned鈥痠nstitution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 12 faculties, 14 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. 不良研究所 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of 不良研究所 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.聽
