And also deal with other viruses that target our respiratory tract, such as the SARS-CoV-2 known to us all.

Researchers are in the magazine with that uplifting news Viruses† In the research article, the scientists announce that they have found a way to prevent the flu virus from multiplying in our bodies. And with that they seem to be on the trail of a very effective treatment for the flu, in which the flu virus is sidelined before it can make us sick.

The flu

You know the feeling: it’s winter and you’re sitting at work next to a sniffling, coughing and overheated colleague who simply looks bad. A few days later you are in bed with the same complaints. You received the flu virus as a gift from that very nice colleague. Virus particles have entered your lungs and infected your cells. They replicated in those cells, creating many more virus particles that infected even more cells and multiplied there again.

replicate

That replication or multiplication is interesting. Because viruses cannot do that on their own; they are completely dependent on their host for their replication. Previously, researchers showed that the most common types of flu viruses – Influenza A and Influenza B – require a human protein to multiply and infect more cells. The new research builds on that discovery. Scientists have now discovered a way to prevent Influenza B from relying on the protein it needs to reproduce. And without that protein, the flu virus cannot replicate itself and is doomed.

“We found that the Influenza B virus replication relies on a human protein: SUMOylation,” said researcher Jiayu Liao. Scientias.nl† “And we’ve found that an inhibitor (or inhibitor, ed.), called STE025, can make the protein unavailable.” And lab experiments show that the inhibitor can so completely prevent the flu virus from multiplying.

More research is desperately needed

It’s good news. But we should not expect that the earth will be flu-free within a few years as a result of this research, Liao emphasizes. Much more research is needed first. “We have found a completely new way to prevent the replication of the flu virus, using a chemical inhibitor. It will take some time to process that inhibitor into a drug and to establish that that drug can also be used safely.”

Pill

But it seems worth the wait. Because if the inhibitor also holds up bravely in that follow-up research, it could result in a highly effective pill that will be the demise of the flu virus. “One way we can make the world flu-free in the future is by offering the drug preemptively, thus preventing any replication of the flu virus in the human body.”

Hundreds of thousands dead

It would be a breakthrough. Because although the flu is very annoying for most of us, we must not forget that the virus is fatal for an estimated hundreds of thousands of people – often the elderly or young children. Of course there are already flu vaccines with which people can reduce their risk of (serious) flu symptoms, but they often do not work optimally. On the one hand, this has to do with the complexity of the immune system, says Liao. “Every person’s immune system and every person’s immune response is different.” In addition, the flu virus mutates at lightning speed, which means that the vaccines developed in the summer are sometimes less effective in the winter. The approach that researchers are now using in the magazine Viruses present does not have those two challenges. For example, it is separate from the immune system and the chance that viruses can get rid of their dependence on human proteins through mutations also seems small.

Other viruses

Moreover, the possible applications of the research extend beyond the flu alone, the researchers say. We may also be able to deal with other viruses – such as the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 – thanks to the fact that they are completely dependent on our own proteins for their replication. “We already have some preliminary data and are now expanding our research to other viruses,” said Liao.

But even if it turns out that the approach is mainly suitable for flu viruses, there is of course a lot to gain. “The flu has been on Earth for centuries,” said Liao. The idea that after all these centuries a time is coming when people no longer have to live (or die) with the flu is encouraging. “It will take a while,” Liao says of that dream scenario. “But we are hopeful.”