Development of a universal influenza A vaccine based on the M2e peptide fused to the papaya mosaic virus (PapMV) vaccine platform.

With the emergence of highly virulent influenza viruses and the consequent risk of pandemics, new approaches to designing universal influenza vaccines are urgently needed. In this report, we demonstrate the potential of using a papaya mosaic virus (PapMV) platform carrying the universal M2e influenza epitope (PapMV-CP-M2e) as a candidate flu vaccine. We show that PapMV-CP-M2e virus-like particles (VLPs) can induce production in mice of anti-M2e antibodies that can recognize influenza-infected cells.