High-throughput sequencing-based neutralization assay reveals how repeated vaccinations impact titers to recent human H1N1 influenza strains.

A recent study published in Vaccine Weekly discusses the development of a high-throughput sequencing-based neutralization assay for measuring serum antibody neutralization titers against multiple strains of influenza viruses. The assay incorporates unique nucleotide barcodes into the viral genome and uses next-generation sequencing to quantify infectivity. The researchers applied this assay to study the impact of influenza vaccination on neutralization titers against recent human H1N1 strains. They found that the viral strain specificities of neutralizing antibodies varied among individuals and that previous-year vaccination resulted in a smaller increase in titers. The study highlights the utility of high-throughput sequencing-based neutralization assays and provides a detailed experimental protocol and computational pipeline for others to use. [Extracted from the article]