Jason McLellan and Barney Graham knew they had it. At the end of November 2012, Graham recounts, they could see the crystallized respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) F protein at atomic resolution using X-ray diffraction. Earlier research had suggested that if they could stabilize one particular conformation—the so-called pre-fusion form—of the F protein, which RSV uses to enter human cells, they might be able to use it as an effective vaccine, says Graham, who has now recently retired after more than 20 years at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and has joined Morehouse School of Medicine. Visualizing that protein conformation was a leap forward on the path.
An effective immunization for RSV, a virus that had thwarted vaccine development attempts for 60 years, could save lives and protect lung health for millions around the world. RSV infection resembles a cold in older ...
