{"id":13537,"date":"2026-04-08T09:46:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13537"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:46:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:46:47","slug":"new-vaccine-strategy-could-help-extend-immunity-against-evolving-viruses","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/new-vaccine-strategy-could-help-extend-immunity-against-evolving-viruses\/","title":{"rendered":"New vaccine strategy could help extend immunity against evolving viruses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Most vaccines are designed to stimulate antibodies that block infection. Researchers at UW\u2013Madison are working on a way to harness T cells in a way that could extend immunity, meaning fewer vaccine boosters for patients. Photo: Jeff Miller \/ UW\u2013Madison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

UW\u2013Madison research identifies a way to program longer-lasting T cells, a potential step toward broader, more durable protection against infections like the flu and COVID-19.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a possible way to make longer lasting vaccines for respiratory viruses like influenza and the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work, published March 25 in in the journal Cell Reports<\/a>, focuses on T cells, a type of immune cell that helps control infections by killing virus-infected cells. Unlike antibodies \u2014 the basis of most current vaccines, which can lose effectiveness as viruses mutate \u2014 T cells recognize more stable parts of viruses, offering a path to broader protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A problem with designing vaccines around T cells, though, is their relatively short lifespan. The new research sheds light on a surprising potential workaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have discovered essentially a mechanism which we can target \u2014 a new clue to generating long-lived T cells,\u201d says M. Suresh<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences who led the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethinking how vaccines trigger immunity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most vaccines are designed to stimulate antibodies that block infection. That approach works well for many infectious diseases, but it can fall short against viruses that evolve quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, what do we do? We need a plan B,\u201d says Suresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"M.
M. Suresh, professor of immunology in the Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Photo: Seth Moffitt \/ UW\u2013Madison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because T cells recognize internal viral proteins that don\u2019t change much over time, they can remain effective even as viruses mutate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key challenge, however, is the durability of protection offered by T cells, especially in the lungs, where respiratory infections take hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suresh\u2019s lab studies a specialized group of immune cells known as tissue-resident memory T cells, which remain in the lungs and airways as a first line of defense. These cells can respond quickly to infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the problem is they don\u2019t stay very long,\u201d Suresh says. \u201cThey die off, and we still don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A different early signal, a different immune outcome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the new study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Suresh and his colleagues looked at what happens in the first hours after vaccination, when the body\u2019s innate immune system is activated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different types of pathogens trigger different early inflammatory signals that \u201cprogram\u201d memory T cells to recognize and go after infected cells. Suresh\u2019s team asked whether changing those signals could reshape how T cells develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using an experimental vaccine approach in mice, the researchers compared two types of early immune signals: one that mimics a viral infection and another that resembles a bacterial response. The difference was striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we had a virus-like inflammation, the memory T cells dropped off and we quickly lost protection,\u201d Suresh says. \u201cBut when we created a bacterial-like inflammation, the mice developed a different kind of memory T cell which actually persisted longer and protected longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stem-like cells that adapt when needed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The longer-lasting cells had characteristics similar to stem cells, Suresh says, including the ability to persist and regenerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more surprising, those cells were able to adapt when confronted with a virus. When the researchers exposed vaccinated mice to infection, the T cells shifted into a more typical virus-fighting mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey just flipped,\u201d Suresh says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That flexibility suggests the T cells could combine durability with the ability to effectively combat a viral infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toward longer-lasting, broader vaccines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The findings offer a potential path toward vaccines that require fewer boosters and provide broader protection across variants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe duration of immunity is really, really important,\u201d Suresh says. \u201cCan we vaccinate fewer times, and can shots protect against new strains?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research also highlights the importance of delivering immunity where infections occur. For respiratory diseases, that may mean developing vaccines that work in the nose and lungs rather than through injection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best way to immunize against all our respiratory infections is to give through the normal route of infection,\u201d Suresh says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What comes next<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The current study was conducted in mice. The team plans to test the approach in nonhuman primates and in models that better reflect the diversity of human immune systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future work will also explore ways to guide immune cells to the lungs after traditional vaccination \u2014 a strategy that could improve protection without requiring new delivery methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This research received funding from the National Institutes of Health (<\/em>U01 AI124299 and R21 AI149793).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Written by Will Cushman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.wisc.edu\/new-vaccine-strategy-could-help-extend-immunity-against-evolving-viruses\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UW\u2013Madison research identifies a way to program longer-lasting T cells, a potential step toward broader, more durable protection against infections like the flu and COVID-19. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a possible way to make longer lasting vaccines for respiratory viruses like influenza and the coronavirus that causes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[103],"story_category":[146],"class_list":["post-13537","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-madison","story_category-research-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13537"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}