Stanford Nasal Spray Protects Mice From All Lung Diseases

Imagine spraying something in your nose each fall and being protected from COVID, flu, colds, pneumonia, and even allergies for the entire season. Stanford Medicine researchers just made that dream a real possibility.

The team developed a nasal spray vaccine that protected mice against an astonishing range of respiratory threats. One dose shielded the animals from multiple coronavirus strains, bacterial infections like staph, and common allergens for at least three months.

This isn't your typical vaccine. Traditional shots work by teaching your body to fight one specific disease, which is why you need a new flu shot every year when the virus mutates. Stanford's formula takes a completely different approach.

Instead of mimicking a pathogen, the vaccine mimics the signals your immune cells use to talk to each other during an infection. It focuses on your innate immune system, the body's first responders that rush to fight any invader immediately.

Scientists have mostly ignored the innate system because it only provides short term protection. But Stanford professor Bali Pulendran noticed something remarkable: it can protect against many different microbes at once, not just one specific disease.

His team discovered that certain immune cells called T-cells can keep the innate system active for months instead of days. They created a vaccine using a protein from eggs that stimulates these T-cells, essentially keeping your body's paramedics on high alert.

The results stunned researchers. When vaccinated mice were exposed to various coronavirus strains, they showed virtually no symptoms while unvaccinated mice got sick, lost weight, and sometimes died. The same protection worked against bacterial pneumonia and allergens too.

The Ripple Effect

If this works in humans, it could transform how we approach respiratory health. No more juggling multiple vaccines or worrying whether you got the right flu shot for this year's strain.

Parents wouldn't need to take crying kids for multiple shots throughout the year. People with weakened immune systems could gain broad protection with a simple nasal spray. Healthcare systems could save billions currently spent treating preventable respiratory infections.

Pulendran believes human trials could begin soon, with a final version potentially available in five to seven years. Some experts caution that our immune systems may have limits on how much they can be boosted, but agree the vaccine deserves testing in people.

The work builds on a 2023 study where Pulendran found that both immune systems in mice stayed active for months after a tuberculosis vaccine. That discovery opened the door to this universal approach that doesn't depend on predicting which diseases will emerge next season.

For now, the mice are leading healthier lives with just a few whiffs of protection.