Could Virexx Medical s Linked Recognition Research Lead To A Cancer Vaccine
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Health Fitness -> subcategory Other.
Could Virexx Medical's 'Linked Recognition' Research Lead to a Cancer Vaccine?
Summary
A scientist's two-decade journey to combat HBV might pave the way for a revolutionary class of adaptable vaccines.
Article
A Scientist's 20-Year Quest for an HBV Treatment May Unlock New Vaccine Possibilities
In the early 1980s, while preparing a lecture in biochemistry and virology at the University of Alberta, Dr. Lorne Tyrrell encountered a study in the journal Cell. This research by William Mason and Jesse Summers, titled "Replication of Hepatitis B," examined the hepatitis B virus in infected duck liver.
Intrigued by their duck model theory, Dr. Tyrrell speculated whether the hepatitis B virus (HBV) could be targeted by antiviral agents. He collaborated with a colleague specializing in nucleoside chemistry, leading to the potential of inhibiting HBV with nucleoside analogues. This marked the beginning of a journey that paved the way for using lamivudine as a treatment for chronic HBV infections.
Globally, over 350 million people, particularly in Asia, found hope for their lifelong HBV infections, often contracted at birth. By 2003, the Centers for Disease Control estimated 73,000 Americans were infected with HBV, with about 5,000 annual deaths from the disease. The virus is notably more contagious than HIV.
Licensed in 1998, lamivudine became a standard therapy in 120 countries for chronic HBV. It is also used with other drugs, such as protease inhibitors, for HIV therapy. Glaxo Wellcome, now GlaxoSmithKline, licensed development rights in 1990, marketing it under the brand name Epivir. Dr. Tyrrell's pioneering efforts earned him numerous accolades, including a gold medal from the Canadian Liver Foundation and the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver, and the prestigious EnCana Principal Award in 2005 for developing the first effective oral Hepatitis B medication.
Continuing the Investigation into HBV
Despite recognition and awards, unresolved questions about lamivudine remained for Dr. Tyrrell. He was concerned about the virus developing resistance. "I was disappointed the sustained viral response wasn't complete," Tyrrell noted. A 2003 study in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy reported increased emergence of lamivudine-resistant HBV strains in Japan.
During his observations at Glaxo's research lab at the University of Alberta, Dr. Tyrrell noticed that patients who exhibited an immune response to the virus and took lamivudine had better sustained response rates. "We saw that patients with elevated liver transaminases had a higher probability of a sustained viral response," he explained with enthusiasm. However, the sustained viral response was only two to three percent, with just 30 percent free of the virus one year after stopping lamivudine.
Dr. Tyrrell questioned how to break the body's tolerance to the hepatitis B virus. He sought methods to stimulate an immune response, discontent with existing approaches. His ViRexx Medical research team explored innovative ways to target the antigen to dendritic cells.
"We developed the Chimigen technology," Tyrrell explained. Dendritic cells have receptors that bind the Fc portion of an antibody. "We used the Fc from a mouse antibody to attach our hepatitis B antigens, directing them into dendritic cells in vivo. Dendritic cells are immune sentries, identifying the foreign mouse antibody and treating the complete molecule, including the virus antigen, as foreign."
The Potential of Linked Recognition
Dr. Rajan George, Vice President of Research and Development at ViRexx Medical, elaborated: "Dendritic cells chop the protein into peptides, known as epitopes. They present these on the surface to T-cells, activating cytotoxic T-cells to target and destroy virus-infected cells."
A 1987 study at Tokyo’s Cancer Institute Hospital suggested that linked recognition of a virus antigen could aid tumor immunity. Dr. Tyrrell's team at ViRexx Medical developed a chimigen?"a chimeric antigen combining components from different sources, part virus, and part mouse monoclonal antibody.
Dr. Tyrrell and Dr. George's research proposed that linked recognition could break tolerance. "The new chimigen stimulates an immune response to both the antigen and viral antigen," Dr. George emphasized. HBV carriers often fail to recognize the viral infection as a threat. ViRexx Medical hopes their approach will stimulate the immune system and overcome this tolerance.
Dr. Tyrrell's ongoing research may soon reveal whether his questions will lead to groundbreaking answers.
End of Part One
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