基孔肯亚病毒让假冒者击败
2006年,基孔肯亚病毒的基因发生了单一突变。于是,经一种新品种的蚊子,这病毒便在非洲内爆发了。在印度洋周边,基孔肯亚病毒一年感染了大约100万人。因此出现的剧烈的关节疼痛,可能会持续好多年。随着蚊子活动范围的扩大,它可能会侵入到温带地区。
美国国立卫生研究院,坐落在马里兰州的贝塞斯达。盖尔·纳贝尔和他的同事们,把携有蛋白质外壳遗传密码的病毒基因,植入到人工培养的人体细胞中。蛋白质长成了貌似病毒的微粒,但仅仅是模仿了病毒,并没有感染性。纳贝尔说:“我们得到了这种结构,它漂亮地复制了这天然的病毒。”
猕猴注射之后产生的抗体,使他们能完全防御这种病毒。它们的抗体在免疫缺陷的老鼠身上同样奏效。以前它们通常会被基孔肯亚病毒杀死 (自然医学, DOI: 10.1038/nm.2105) 。纳贝尔希望,将来一到三年内,这种疫苗能在人身上测试。
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| 原文:Chikungunya foiled by copycat 'virus' |
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In 2006 a single mutation in the virus allowed it to burst out of Africa
via a new species of mosquito. Chikungunya now infects about 1 million
people a year around the Indian Ocean and causes intense joint pain
which can persist for years. It could invade temperate regions as the mosquitoes' range expands.
Gary
Nabel of the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland,
and colleagues put genes that code for the virus's protein coat into
cultured human cells. The proteins assembled themselves into virus-like
particles (VLPs), which mimic the virus but aren't infectious. "We got
structures that beautifully replicated the natural virus," Nabel says.
Rhesus
monkeys injected with the VLPs produced antibodies that gave them
complete protection against the virus. Their antibodies also worked for
immune-deficient mice that are normally killed by chikungunya (Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm.2105). Nabel hopes the vaccine will be tested in people in one to three years. 其它发现: |
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