新方法为丙型肝炎疫苗向前迈出的一步

StephenW

http://www.healthnews.com/en/articles/1inngrVIH11gXTHUcvbUtc/New-approach-a-step-forward-for-hepatitis-C-vaccine/
New approach a step forward for hepatitis C vaccine
by Ben Hirschler, Last updated August 03, 2011   

LONDON (Reuters) - French scientists have developed a novel hepatitis C vaccine that may offer the first effective way to prevent an infection that can cause chronic liver disease and cancer.
There is currently no available vaccine for hepatitis C, though some companies are developing so-called "therapeutic vaccines," which are designed to help patients who are already infected.
The latest experimental shot has been tested successfully on mice and monkeys, but not humans, and has been shown to activate a broad response from immune system proteins called neutralizing antibodies.
The antibodies fought off multiple variants of the hepatitis C virus in tests, suggesting the new vaccine should be effective even after the virus mutates, the researchers reported on Wednesday.
Neutralizing antibodies play a central role in most existing vaccines against other diseases, but harnessing them in hepatitis C has previously proved elusive. Work to date on therapeutic vaccines has focused on another immune system mechanism known as T-cells.
"For a preventative vaccine, neutralizing antibodies are absolutely essential, and for a therapeutic product they would also be a big advantage," David Klatzmann, a member of the research team, told Reuters.
About 130 million to 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus, and more than 350,000 die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Unlike hepatitis A or B, most people with hepatitis C develop chronic disease because their bodies are unable to get rid of the virus. The condition is spread by exposure to infected blood.
Interferon and ribavirin-based therapy has been the mainstay of treatment, although recently Vertex and Merck have both launched promising new medicines that are tipped to become multibillion-dollar-a-year sellers.
Commercial interest in hepatitis C vaccines has been more muted. French biotech company Transgene and Austria's Intercell are both testing therapeutic versions, but the main markets for a preventative shot would be in the developing world, which is less attractive for Big Pharma.
Commercial rights to the new vaccine are held by French start-up Epixis, which is being acquired by an undisclosed U.S. biotech company.
Epixis CEO Charlotte Dalba said she hoped that initial human trials of the vaccine could start in 2012, provided funding was in place.
The experimental vaccine uses virus-like particles, which resemble viruses but are non-infectious because they don't contain any viral genetic material. Details of its development were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
In an accompanying commentary, Ranjit Ray of Saint Louis University said the work to date on mice and macaque monkeys showed significant progress, though "many questions still remain."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/qX39WK Science Translational Medicine, August 3, 2011.
   

StephenW

谷歌翻译不是100％准确。仅作为参考使用。

新方法为丙型肝炎疫苗的一步


伦敦（路透社） - 法国科学家已经开发出一种新型丙型肝炎疫苗可能提供的第一个有效途径，以防止感染，可导致慢性肝病及癌症。

目前还没有丙型肝炎疫苗，虽然一些公司正在开发所谓的“治疗性疫苗”，其目的是为了帮助那些已经感染的病人。

最新实验出手，成功在老鼠身上和猴子进行了测试，但不是人，并已被证明，以激活免疫系统称为中和抗体的蛋白质的广泛响应。

该抗体击退C型肝炎病毒的多个变种，在试验表明，新的疫苗应，即使病毒变异后的有效，研究人员报告（星期三）。

中和抗体发挥中心的作用，但在大多数现有疫苗对其他疾病的丙型肝炎他们利用在先前已证明难以捉摸。另一种称为T细胞的免疫系统机制集中在治疗性疫苗的工作迄今。

“一种预防性疫苗，中和抗体是绝对必要的，一种治疗性的产品，他们也将是一个很大的优势，”大卫Klatzmann，该研究小组的成员，告诉路透社记者。

世界各地的约130万至170万人口慢性感染丙型肝炎病毒，C型肝炎有关的肝脏疾病，每年死亡超过35万，根据世界卫生组织。

与A或B型肝炎，C型肝炎的大多数人发展为慢性疾病，因为他们的身体都无法得到清除病毒。条件是由接触受感染的血液传播。

干扰素和利巴韦林为基础的疗法已被治疗的主体，虽然最近Vertex和默克公司都推出有前途的新药物可能成为一个每年数十亿美元的卖家。

丙型肝炎疫苗的商业利益已更加静音。法国的生物技术公司的转基因和奥地利的Intercell都是测试治疗的版本，但一种预防性拍摄的主要市场将在发展中世界，这是降低其大型制药公司的吸引力。

新疫苗的商业权利，这是一个秘密的美国生物技术公司收购法国启动Epixis举行。

Epixis首席执行官夏洛特达尔巴说，她希望疫苗的首次人体试验可能在2012年开始，只要资金到位。

实验的疫苗使用类病毒颗粒，这类似于病毒，但非传染性的，因为它们不包含任何病毒的遗传物质。其发展的详情已在“科学”杂志的转化医学。

在随后的评论中，美国圣路易斯大学兰吉特雷说，对小鼠和猕猴的工作表现出显着的进展，虽然“许多问题仍然存在。”

资料来源：http://bit.ly/qX39WK科学转化医学，2011年8月3日。

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