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SARS vaccine triggers immunity in monkeys.


An experimental vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus has elicited a strong immune response against the virus in a test on monkeys, the vaccine's developers report.

Immunologist im·mu·nol·o·gist (my-nl Andrea Gambotto and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine devised a vaccine using three common-cold adenoviruses
mammalian adenoviruses  Mastadenovirus.


ad·e·no·vi·rus (dn--v
, each genetically modified to produce a protein from the coronavirus that causes SARS. When injected into six rhesus macaque macaque (məkäk`), name for Old World monkeys of the genus Macaca, related to mangabeys, mandrills, and baboons. All but one of the 19 species are found in Asia from Afghanistan to Japan, the Philippines, and Borneo. monkeys via two shots 28 days apart, the vaccine induced production of antibodies and T cells against SARS, the researchers report in the Dec. 6, 2003 Lancet. The response was best after the booster shot
Booster Shot
The name given to the first formal recommendation report issued by an underwriter for an IPO. It is presented in the process of the public offering.

Notes:
The booster shot acts as a way to reinforce attractiveness of the new issue. The underwriter attempts to ensure a successful offering by strengthening the issues appeal.
See also: Friendly Hands, IPO, Prospectus, Tombstone, Underwriting
, but signs of immunity were already present 2 weeks after the first injection, Gambotto says.

What's more, when the scientists took blood from each monkey and exposed the sample to live SARS virus in a lab dish, the antibodies and T cells neutralized the virus.

Gambotto and his colleagues now intend to test the vaccine in ferrets exposed to SAPS virus. Ferrets are more susceptible to the disease than rhesus macaques are.

Several groups are working on SARS vaccines. Gambotto predicts that one or more of these vaccines could reach large human trials within a year or two, especially if more outbreaks warrant an expedited approach.--N.S.
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Title Annotation:Biomedicine)(severe acute respiratory syndrome; severe acute respiratory syndrome; Biomedicine
Publication:Science News
Article Type:Brief Article
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Jan 10, 2004
Words:212
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