Vanderbilt University scientists have contributed to a major finding, reported this week in the journal Nature, which could lead to the first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

Vanderbilt vaccine researchers are using gold nanotechnology to develop a new approach to making vaccines.

An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy.

The respiratory virus HMPV uses its fusion (F) protein – which interacts with cellular receptors called integrins – to bind to and enter target cells.

Viruses that cause acute respiratory infections — such as human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and flu — impair a set of immune system cells that should clear the virus from the lungs. Now, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered the signaling pathway that disables these immune cells.

New details about the life cycle of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) could aid the development of therapies to combat this leading cause of serious illness in infants and the elderly.