While gut microbiota play a critical role in the induction of adaptive immune responses to influenza virus infection, the role of nasal bacteria in the induction of virus-specific adaptive immunity is less clear. New research published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, explores the role of nasal bacteria and provides clues to developing better intranasal vaccines for flu and COVID-19.
In the new study, to determine the effects of nasal bacteria in the induction of mucosal immune responses to influenza virus infection, Dr. Ichniohe and colleagues treated mice intranasally with an antibiotic cocktail to kill the nasal bacteria before influenza virus infection.
