Patient heal thyself: Solution to treatment for chronic infections could lie in patient's blood
by PressRelease • December 26, 2013 • 0 Comments
This discovery gives hope for a more effective and cheaper treatment strategy to millions worldwide suffering from chronic infections
1. A recent discovery by scientists at A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), in close collaboration with researchers at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), provides hope for a new personalised treatment strategy that could use a patient’s own blood to treat the infection. This could help treat millions of people living with chronic infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. These findings were published in the issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
2. Patients suffering from chronic infections often have to undergo long periods of anti-viral drug therapy to control the virus. Anti-viral drugs are not fully effective against viruses such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, which have chronically-infected about 400 million worldwide with more than 1,000,000 people dying from Hepatitis-related diseases every year.
3. Vaccines are a potentially effective means to treat chronic viral infections such as this because they can eliminate the virus naturally. However, vaccines for patients with chronic infections are often difficult to produce since these patients already have weak immune responses or the vaccine is not effective due to genetic diversity amongst viruses.
4. The team at SICS led by Prof Antonio Bertoletti has discovered that monocytes, a type of white blood cell that can activate an immune response, are able to capture the virus in chronically-infected patients and use the captured virus to boost the patient’s own immune response.
5. By using the viral antigen already present in the blood of the patient suffering from a chronic illness, this strategy redefines therapeutic vaccines by cutting down on time and resources as there is no need to specially isolate the viral proteins from patients, purify it, and then inactivate it to create a vaccine.
6. All the proteins present within the virus can be used to create a personalised vaccine for each individual. This also means that many of the complex issues associated with current vaccine therapy against chronic infections can be overcome, such as that of genetic diversity of viruses.
7. One of the greatest beneficiaries of this discovery would be chronically-infected patient populations in lower socio-economic strata. By tailoring vaccines to be more specific to each virus and each patient, vaccine production can be simplified and thus less costly. Vaccines produced via this discovery could improve the accessibility of such treatments.
8. Prof Bertoletti said, “Mobilizing the immune system to use the virus within the patient for a vaccine is a simple idea that could lead to a personalised, yet widely applicable, vaccine for chronic infections.”
9. Prof Judith Swain, Executive Director of SICS said, “This excellent collaborative discovery between SICS and SIgN is a milestone in vaccine therapy for chronic infections. I believe that these findings will go a long way in improving future therapeutic treatments for chronic infections.”
The research findings described in this media release can be found in the August 2013 online issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation under the title, “Mobilizing monocytes to cross-present circulating viral antigen in chronic infection” by Adam J. Gehring1, Muzlifah Haniffa2,3, Patrick Kennedy4, Zi Zong Ho1, Carolina Boni5, Amanda Shin3, Nasirah Banu1, Adeline Chia1, Seng Gee Lim6, Carlo Ferrari5, Florent Ginhoux3, and Antonio Bertoletti1,7,8
1 Infection and Immunity Programme, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
2 Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.
3 Singapore Immunology Network, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
4 Center for Digestive Disease, Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom.
5 Unit of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Laboratory of Viral Immunopathology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma, Parma, Italy.
6 Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
7 Program Emerging Viral Diseases, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
8 Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
PatientHeal Thyself: Solution to Treatment for Chronic Infections Could Lie inPatient's Blood
病人自己治愈自己:病例自身血液可以用来治疗慢性感染
Sep.23, 2013 — A recent discovery by scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Institute forClinical Sciences (SICS), in close collaboration with researchers at the SingaporeImmunology Network (SIgN), provides hope for a new personalised treatmentstrategy that could use a patient's own blood to treat the infection. Thiscould help treat millions of people living with chronic infections such as HIV,Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. These findings were published in the August 2013issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
2013年9月23日——新加波临床科学研究所(SICS)的科学家与新加坡免疫学信息网(SIgN)的研究人员相互合作,发现了可以用病例自己的血液来治疗感染的新方法。这种方法可以帮助数百万感染HIV,乙肝和丙肝的病例。他们的发现发表在2013年8月的《临床研究杂志》上。
Patientssuffering from chronic infections often have to undergo long periods ofanti-viral drug therapy to control the virus. Anti-viral drugs are not fullyeffective against viruses such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, which havechronically-infected about 400 million worldwide with more than 1,000,000people dying from Hepatitis-related diseases every year.[1]
患慢性感染的病例通常需要接受长时间的抗病毒药物治疗用来控制病毒。抗病毒药对乙肝或丙肝等病毒并不是完全有效,在全球范围内的约四百万慢性病毒感染病例平均每年有超过一百万人死于肝炎相关的疾病。
Vaccinesare a potentially effective means to treat chronic viral infections such asthis because they can eliminate the virus naturally. However, vaccines forpatients with chronic infections are often difficult to produce since thesepatients already have weak immune responses or the vaccine is not effective dueto genetic diversity amongst viruses.
疫苗是一种潜在的有效的治疗慢性病毒感染的方法,因为他们可以自然的杀灭病毒。然而,由于慢性病毒感染的病例的免疫系统比较脆弱,因而常常不能使疫苗发挥足够的效果,而且由于病毒的遗传多样性,有些疫苗也不能发挥作用。
Theteam at SICS led by Prof Antonio Bertoletti has discovered that monocytes, atype of white blood cell that can activate an immune response, are able tocapture the virus in chronically-infected patients and use the captured virusto boost the patient's own immune response.
AntonioBertoletti教授带领的新加波临床科学研究所的团队已经发现,作为白细胞中的一种的单核细胞可以激活一种免疫应答,这种免疫应答可以捕获慢性病毒感染病例血液中的病毒,然后通过使用这种病毒来放大病例自身的免疫应答。
Byusing the viral antigen already present in the blood of the patient sufferingfrom a chronic illness, this strategy redefines therapeutic vaccines by cuttingdown on time and resources as there is no need to specially isolate the viralproteins from patients, purify it, and then inactivate it to create a vaccine.
通过使用已经存在在慢性病毒感染病例血液中的病毒抗原,这种方法重新定义了治疗性疫苗,因为它不需要病例体内的病毒蛋白进行分离,纯化,然后在减活来制备疫苗,这样可以减少时间和资源的消耗。
Allthe proteins present within the virus can be used to create a personalisedvaccine for each individual. This also means that many of the complex issuesassociated with current vaccine therapy against chronic infections can beovercome, such as that of genetic diversity of viruses.
病毒内部存在的所有蛋白都可以被用来制备针对不同病例的个性化疫苗。这也就意味着,许多现有的治疗慢性病毒感染的疫苗相关的问题,如病毒的遗传多样性等问题都将可以克服。
Oneof the greatest beneficiaries of this discovery would be chronically-infectedpatient populations in lower socio-economic strata. By tailoring vaccines to bemore specific to each virus and each patient, vaccine production can besimplified and thus less costly. Vaccines produced via this discovery couldimprove the accessibility of such treatments.
这一发现的最大收益者之一就是那些社会经济阶层较低的感染慢性病毒的人群。通过制备针对不同病毒不同病例的疫苗,可以简化疫苗的生产步骤,因而疫苗的成本也更低。通过这次的研究结果制备出的疫苗可以提高疫苗治疗的应用范围。
ProfBertoletti said, "Mobilizing the immune system to use the virus within thepatient for a vaccine is a simple idea that could lead to a personalised, yetwidely applicable, vaccine for chronic infections."
Bertoletti教授说:“通过使用病例体内的病毒来动员免疫系统产生疫苗是一个简单的想法,但它可以得到个性化的,广泛应用的针对慢性病毒感染的疫苗。”
ProfJudith Swain, Executive Director of SICS said, "This excellentcollaborative discovery between SICS and SIgN is a milestone in vaccine therapyfor chronic infections. I believe that these findings will go a long way inimproving future therapeutic treatments for chronic infections."
新加波临床科学研究所常务董事JudithSwain教授说:“这项由SICS和SIgN互相合作,共同的研究发现是治疗慢性病毒感染疫苗的一个里程碑。我相信,这些发现在未来治疗慢性病毒感染的道路上,还有很长的路要走。”