(Press-News.org) Bethesda, MD—Smoking tobacco might be bad for your health, but a genetically altered version of the plant might provide a relatively inexpensive cure for the deadly rabies virus. In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus. This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain.
"Rabies continues to kill many thousands of people throughout the developing world every year and can also affect international travelers," said Leonard Both, M.Sc., a researcher involved in the work from the Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit at St. George's, University of London, in the United Kingdom. "An untreated rabies infection is nearly 100 percent fatal and is usually seen as a death sentence. Producing an inexpensive antibody in transgenic plants opens the prospect of adequate rabies prevention for low-income families in developing countries."
To make this advance, Both and colleagues "humanized" the sequences for the antibody so people could tolerate it. Then, the antibody was produced using transgenic tobacco plants as an inexpensive production platform. The antibody was purified from the plant leaves and characterized with regards to its protein and sugar composition. The antibody was also shown to be active in neutralizing a broad panel of rabies viruses, and the exact antibody docking site on the viral envelope was identified using certain chimeric rabies viruses.
"Although treatable by antibodies if caught in time, rabies is bad news," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "This is especially true for people in the developing world where manufacturing costs lead to treatment shortages. Being able to grow safe, humanized antibodies in genetically modified tobacco should reduce costs to make treatments more accessible, and save more lives."
###
Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is among the most cited biology journals worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century. FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Its mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to its member societies and through collaborative advocacy.
Details: Leonard Both, Craig van Dolleweerd, Edward Wright, Ashley C. Banyard, Bianca Bulmer-Thomas, David Selden, Friedrich Altmann, Anthony R. Fooks, and Julian K.-C. Ma. Production, characterization, and antigen specificity of recombinant 62-71-3, a candidate monoclonal antibody for rabies prophylaxis in humans. FASEB J doi:10.1096/fj.12-219964 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2013/01/31/fj.12-219964.abstract. END
Genetically modified tobacco plants produce antibodies to treat rabies
New research in The FASEB Journal shows that transgenic tobacco plants can be used to produce safe, protective antibodies against rabies and to benefit patients in developing countries
2013-02-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Overdose education, bystander nasal naloxone rescue kits associated with decreased opioid overdose death
2013-02-01
(Boston) – In a study of communities in Massachusetts with high numbers of opioid overdose deaths, the implementation of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) was associated with a significant reduction in opioid overdose death rates. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC), Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), this study provides observational evidence that OEND is an effective public health ...
Novel radiation therapy method shortens prostate cancer treatment time
2013-02-01
According to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, the use of volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to deliver intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to prostate cancer patients results in an overall reduction in treatment time of approximately 14 percent. The study was performed at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.
Treatment with IMRT is increasingly standard for prostate cancer. However, although the benefits of IMRT in the treatment of prostate cancer are ample, it remains a complex and time-consuming ...
Increases in extreme rainfall linked to global warming
2013-02-01
A worldwide review of global rainfall data led by the University of Adelaide has found that the intensity of the most extreme rainfall events is increasing across the globe as temperatures rise.
In the most comprehensive review of changes to extreme rainfall ever undertaken, researchers evaluated the association between extreme rainfall and atmospheric temperatures at more than 8000 weather gauging stations around the world.
Lead author Dr Seth Westra said, "The results are that rainfall extremes are increasing on average globally. They show that there is a 7% increase ...
New protocol recommendations for measuring soil organic carbon sequestration
2013-02-01
URBANA – Increased levels of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), have been associated with the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, cultivation of grasslands, drainage of the land, and land use changes. Concerns about long-term shifts in climate patterns have led scientists to measure soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural landscapes and to develop methods to evaluate how changes in tillage practices affect atmospheric carbon sequestration. University of Illinois professor of soil science Kenneth Olson has used data collected over a 20-year period ...
Gap geometry grasped
2013-02-01
Theoretical physicist Moumita Maiti and colleagues at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India, have now implemented an algorithm for analysing void space in sphere packing, where the spheres need not all be the same size. This method, about to be published in EPJ E, could be applied to analyse the geometry of liquids present between multi-sized spheres that are akin to a model for porous material. This provides a tool for studying the flow of such fluids through porous material. More importantly, it can also be used to study the ...
How do corals survive in the hottest reefs on the planet?
2013-02-01
Coral reefs are predicted to decline under the pressure of global warming. However, a number of coral species can survive at seawater temperatures even higher than predicted for the tropics during the next century. How they survive, while most species cannot, is being investigated by researchers at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
We tend to associate coral reefs with tropical seas of around 28 degrees, where even slight warming can have devastating effects on corals. But in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, corals ...
European investments in advanced computing systems deliver results
2013-02-01
January 31, 2013 - At the HiPEAC 2013 conference in Berlin, KALRAY demonstrated MPPA256, the world's first supercomputer-on-a-chip, consisting of 256 computing cores. This innovative processor combines the ultimate in several processor types and will enable a whole new class of embedded and industrial applications in the fields of image processing, signal processing, control, communications and data security. The MPPA256 is completely designed in Europe and is only one of the success stories resulting from the 170 million Euro investment in carefully selected European funded ...
Routes towards defect-free graphene
2013-02-01
A new way of growing graphene without the defects that weaken it and prevent electrons from flowing freely within it could open the way to large-scale manufacturing of graphene-based devices with applications in fields such as electronics, energy, and healthcare.
A team led by Oxford University scientists has overcome a key problem of growing graphene – a one atom-thick layer of carbon – when using an established technique called chemical vapour deposition, that the tiny flakes of graphene form with random orientations, leaving defects or 'seams' between flakes that ...
Study: Infection preventionists know safe care
2013-02-01
Washington, DC, February 1, 2013 – There is general agreement among hospital infection preventionists (IPs) with respect to which practices have weak or strong evidence supporting their use to prevent healthcare-associated infection, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
Furthermore, IPs with certification in infection prevention and control (CIC®) are two to three times more likely to perceive the ...
New study sheds light on link between dairy intake and bone health
2013-02-01
Boston - A study by researchers at the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), has found that dairy intake —specifically milk and yogurt —is associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip, but not the spine. Cream, on the other hand, may be associated with lower BMD overall. Published today in the journal Archives of Osteoporosis, these findings suggest that not all dairy products are equally beneficial in promoting bone strength.
"Dairy foods provide several important nutrients that are beneficial ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
New research boosts future whooping cough vaccines
Mechanistic understanding could enable better fast-charging batteries
No bones about it: new details about skeletal cell aging revealed
UNM scientists discover how nanoparticles of toxic metal used in MRI scans infiltrate human tissue
UMaine research examines best methods for growing Atlantic sea scallops
Medical cannabis could speed recovery, especially at community recovery homes
Study assesses U.S. image amid weakening of democracy
Two scientific researchers to receive 2025 Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships for Brain Health
Researchers improve chemical reaction that underpins products from foods to fuels
Texas Tech to develop semiconductor power devices through $6 million grant
Novel genomic screening tool enables precision reverse-engineering of genetic programming in cells
Hot Schrödinger cat states created
How cells repair their power plants
Oxygen is running low in inland waters—and humans are to blame
ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain
Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity
How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus
Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions
Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections
Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?
Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits
Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers
Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations
Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient
AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care
Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care
ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025
New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics
Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people
Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance
[Press-News.org] Genetically modified tobacco plants produce antibodies to treat rabiesNew research in The FASEB Journal shows that transgenic tobacco plants can be used to produce safe, protective antibodies against rabies and to benefit patients in developing countries