Wellcome Trust fast-tracks Avian flu research
19 June 2006
Researchers are working with adults who have recovered from infection by the potentially lethal H5N1 strain of avian flu, to develop antibodies that it is hoped could be used in the fight against H5N1 infection. The research has been fast-tracked for support by the Wellcome Trust.
The work is based at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and is part of an international collaboration of scientists working to harness a novel method of rapidly generating antibodies from human cells. This method has been developed by Professor Antonio Lanzavecchia at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, a non-profit private institution in Switzerland, which has filed patents protecting the technology. Antibodies are produced by the body's immune system to recognise and fight against infection.
The research collaboration has been awarded £385 000 by the Wellcome Trust as part of an initiative to 'fast-track' research into the human and avian influenza.
"By using the new technology on blood cells from Vietnamese adults who have recovered from H5N1 infections, we are, in theory, taking advantage of the highly selected, naturally acquired anti-viral immune response in these people," explains Dr Cameron Simmons. Dr Simmons is part of the international collaboration and is based at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam, one of the Wellcome Trust's Major Overseas Programmes.
"The unit in Vietnam is well placed to carry out this research, already carrying out research into human and avian influenzas, with front-line access to patients and with the superb collaboration and support from all the authorities in Vietnam," says Dr Simmons.
The international research team also includes Dr Kanta Subbarao of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health in Maryland, USA, who is working on mouse models of the virus.
Dr Subbarao and her NIAID colleagues aim to use the antibodies to H5N1 virus, developed from these patients, to neutralise strains of the H5N1 virus in the laboratory. These antibodies could be valuable tools to understand the mechanisms of H5N1 influenza infection and could conceivably have some clinical uses in prevention and treatment of disease.
H5N1 strains of the influenza virus have caused disease in millions of poultry across the globe, especially in the last three years. Occasionally, the H5N1 influenza virus has been transmitted to humans, often fatally. The virus still remains hard for people to catch, but scientists across the globe are working to develop a vaccine and treatments in case the virus mutates into a form easily transmitted among humans.
"If and when the H5N1 virus mutates and becomes more easily transmissible between humans, it is important that scientists are in as strong a position as possible to tackle a potential pandemic," says Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust. "The Wellcome Trust already spends £450 million annually on improving human and animal health, but is making research into human and avian influenza a priority, ensuring that we are able to 'fast-track' high-quality research proposals such as this."
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Notes for editors
1. The Wellcome Trust is the most diverse biomedical research charity in the world, spending about £450 million every year both in the UK and internationally to support and promote research that will improve the health of humans and animals. The Trust was established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome, and is funded from a private endowment, which is managed with long-term stability and growth in mind.
2. The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) is an independent non-profit research institute founded in Bellinzona, Switzerland in 2000. The eight research groups of the IRB are dedicated to increasing understanding of the mechanisms of host defence against infectious agents, toxins, tumours and neurodegenerative disease. Worldwide rights to the antibody technology have been licensed to Humabs, LLC, a US-based business with offices in Bellinzona.
3. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.
4. Oxford University is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research. Global health is a particularly strong area of research, with world-leading projects in areas including malaria, TB, bird flu and HIV.