Vaccinia hitched to new load.Vaccinia hitched to new load Vaccinia, the workhorse virus used to vaccinate vac·ci·nate v. To inoculate with a vaccine in order to produce immunity to an infectious disease such as diphtheria or typhus. vac against smallpox, is under investigation as a carrier of genetic material from other ogranisms. Vaccinia hybrids that produce proteins from several viruses have already proved effective in animal trials (SN: 6/15/85, p.379); now researchers from the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institutes of Health have used vaccinia to carry respiratory syncytial virus respiratory syncytial virus (sĭnsĭsh`əl): see cold, common. (RSV RSV respiratory syncytial virus; Rous sarcoma virus. RSV abbr. respiratory syncytial virus RSV 1 Respiratory syncytial virus, see there 2 Rous sarcoma virus, see there ) genetic material. RSV is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infection While often used as a synonym for pneumonia, the rubric of lower respiratory tract infection can also be applied to other types of infection including lung abscess, acute bronchitis, and emphysema. ; in children, its effects range from mild to lethal. The researchers cloned an RSV gene that dictates the production of a glycoprotein, put the copies into vaccinia and inoculated rats with the hybrid organism. The rats produced antibodies to the glycoprotein and were able to resist RSV infection, the researchers report in the March PROCEEDING OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (No. 7). |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion