Influenza vaccine as prevention for cardiovascular diseases: Possible molecular mechanism

Abstract

Despite plausible evidence for beneficial effects of the vaccination against influenza in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) very limited studies have been carried out to explain the molecular mechanism of this phenomenon. Using the informational spectrum method (ISM), a virtual spectroscopy method for analysis of protein-protein interactions, the bradykinin 2 receptor (BKB2R) was identified as a principal host protein which could mediate molecular processes underlying the cardioprotective effect of influenza vaccines.Based on this finding we suggest that some antibodies elicited by influenza vaccines act as agonists, which activate a BKB2R-associated signaling pathway contributing to the protection against CVD. The ISM analysis of 14 influenza viruses, which were used as components of seasonal vaccines, revealed four vaccine viruses A/Beijing/262/95(H1N1), A/NewCaledonia/20/1999(H1N1), A/Christchurch/28/2003(H3N2) and A/Perth/16/2009(H3N2), which could be suited best for further studies on the cardioprotective effect of influenza vaccines.