The novel vaccine design pipeline could protect against many viruses simultaneously.

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology have developed a research pipeline to accelerate the development of “universal vaccines” that would fight many viruses at once.

As most vaccines – such as those for chicken pox – are designed to provide immunity against just one pathogen, the “pipeline is challenging that approach,” said LJI research assistant professor Alba Grifoni.

Grifoni co-authored the study, published Aug 6 in Cell, which indicated that if successful, the new pipeline could lead to vaccines that neutralize emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and many other viruses with pandemic potential.

Many viruses belong to large families. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a type of coronavirus and therefore closely related to common cold coronaviruses, and others.

All of these coronaviruses share certain “conserved” protein sequences that have stayed consistent as the viruses have evolved. These closely-related viruses share many of the same features and are recognized by some of the same T cells, which are white blood cells that can recognize and kill virus-infected cells to stop infection from spreading.

In previous studies, LJI researchers discovered that some cross-reactive T cells can detect these conserved sites, called epitopes, to target both SARS-CoV-2 and common cold coronaviruses.

Grifoni’s laboratory is working to map out these conserved epitope regions, which is critical work for developing a universal coronavirus vaccine.

The coronavirus study shows the accuracy and usefulness of a new research pipeline, Grifoni said. Researchers could use this same process to pinpoint conserved T cell epitopes across different respiratory viruses such as paramyxoviruses, including measles and Nipah virus, or enteroviruses and even viral species causing hemorrhagic fevers such as Lassa and Junin viruses.

“Our laboratory is collaborating with research groups that are interested in many different viral families,” said Grifoni. “We need to fill the knowledge gaps.”