Tuesday, March 03, 2009
A new approach primes antibodies to instantly attack cancers, HIV, and other diseases.
By Jennifer Chu
"Now researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have developed preprogrammed chemicals that bind to antibodies and tell them how to recognize part of a pathogen, known as its epitope. In experiments, the team found that such chemicals prompted a therapeutic immune response that inhibited the growth of two types of tumors in mice. The researchers published their findings in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science."
"We used a chemistry-based approach that wouldn't induce antibodies that might be wasted," says Carlos Barbas, a professor of molecular biology and lead investigator on the paper. "[This approach] could focus an immune response on functional epitopes of the pathogen, be it cancer or a virus."
"Howard Kaufman, director of the Mount Sinai Melanoma and Sarcoma Program, studies cancer's immunosuppressive mechanisms, particularly in melanoma, and is beginning phase I clinical trials to test a melanoma vaccine. Kaufman says that Barbas's vaccine technique represents a new way to treat cancer and other diseases. "It's appealing as an approach," says Kaufman. "It's a way to get instant immunization as opposed to waiting for kinetics to develop T cell responses."
Source:http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22243/
A Vaccine Offers Instant Immunity
Take Care
Jimmy B
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