University of Houston develops new treatments for flu and coronaviruses

A team of researchers led by the University of Houston has discovered two new methods for preventing and treating respiratory viruses. In back-to-back papers in Nature Communications, the team from Navin Varadarajan's lab, M.D. Anderson Professor of William A. Brookshire Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, reports the development and validation of NanoSTING, a nasal spray that acts as a broad-spectrum immune activator against multiple respiratory viruses, and NanoSTING-SN, a pan-coronavirus nasal vaccine.

NanoSTING is designed to prevent multiple respiratory viruses by activating the immune system and preventing infection. It has shown effectiveness against strains of SARS-CoV-2 and the flu virus with a single intranasal dose. According to Varadarajan, "Using multiple models, the team demonstrated that a single treatment with NanoSTING not only protects against pathogenic strains of SARS-CoV-2 but also prevents transmission of highly transmissible variants like the Omicron variants."

Ankita Leekha, first author and postdoctoral associate, noted that "intranasal delivery of NanoSTING is capable of eliciting beneficial type I and type III interferon responses that are associated with immune protection and antiviral benefit." The research further indicates that NanoSTING can protect against both Tamiflu-sensitive and resistant strains of influenza.

NanoSTING-SN is a nasal vaccine developed to prevent transmission to unvaccinated individuals while fighting multiple COVID variants. This vaccine aims to provide universal coronavirus protection by eliminating virus replication in both lungs and nostrils. Varadarajan reported that "the vaccine candidate protects the primary host from disease when challenged with highly pathogenic variants" and significantly prevents transmission to vaccine-naïve hosts.

Leekha emphasized the potential impact: "The ability to protect against multiple coronaviruses and variants provides the exciting potential towards a universal coronavirus vaccine."

The research involved collaboration between UH researchers Xinli Liu (College of Pharmacy), Vallabh E. Das (College of Optometry), Brett L. Hurst (Utah State University), and consultation from AuraVax Therapeutics. Funding was provided by NIH (R01GM143243), Owens Foundation, and AuraVax Therapeutics.