-Caveat Lector-
"By manipulating the genetic pattern of the flu virus, it could be used
to deliver curative [or destructive] genes to cells in the body.
"Researchers would put a [piggyback] gene into the flu virus and inject
it into a patient. The virus would then infect cells with the genes that
could correct [or cause] a disease process. This technique could be used,
for instance, to fight cancer by delivering 'killer' genes directly to cancer
cells."
Researchers Create Flu Virus in Lab
By PAUL RECER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have created a flu virus in the laboratory by
combining the genetic pieces of an existing flu bug - work they said could
lead to a new type of vaccine.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin's School of Veterinary
Medicine, said he and his colleagues were able to make a flu virus that
precisely duplicated a virus that was isolated in 1933 and is now used
commonly in influenza research.
A report on the research was being published Tuesday in the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
Kawaoka said the importance of making a flu virus is the understanding gained
about the inner workings of one of humankind's most troublesome pathogens.
``This technology should help us gain a greater biological understanding of
influenza and improve our methods of disease control,'' he said.
To make the virus, the researchers removed and separated the eight components
in the genetic makeup of a flu virus called WSN. These components are called
plasmids.
The flu plasmids were mixed with nine plasmids from other sources and then
added to a laboratory dish containing about a million living cells.
The plasmids invaded the cells in random combinations. In about one cell out
of every 1,000, the plasmids combined to form the WSN flu virus.
To prove that the virus was alive, said Kawaoka, the team allowed it to make
a new generation of virus that then was used to infect a new batch of cells.
A genetic analysis of the new virus showed that it was an exact match of the
WSN flu virus, he said.
Kawaoka said the technique will allow researchers to manipulate the plasmids
in order to create live viruses that could be used for flu vaccines.
``We can introduce mutations any way we want,'' he said. ``We can control the
virulence by mutating here, there, anywhere. That could help us generate a
live vaccine that is also stable.''
A live vaccine could be more effective than one made with inactivated flu
components, he said, because it would prompt the body to develop a more
powerful immune system response and thus provide more protection against
infection.
Flu remains a major public health problem, infecting about 40 million
Americans annually, and killing about 20,000. Current vaccines are
protective, but they have to be changed each year because the virus itself
changes constantly. This means vaccine protection against the flu requires
annual shots.
Knowing more about the flu virus structure may make it possible to make a
vaccine that provides more long-lasting protection, Kawaoka said.
The researcher cautioned, however, that the work is in its very early stages
and that creating a new vaccine can take a decade or more.
Kawaoka said the new way of manipulating the genetic pattern of the flu virus
also suggests that the virus could be used to deliver curative genes to cells
in the body.
In such a system, researchers would put a gene into the flu virus and inject
it into a patient. The virus would then infect cells with the genes that
could correct a disease process.
The technique could be used, for instance, to fight cancer by delivering
killing genes directly to cancer cells, Kawaoka said.
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