So over the past few weeks I have introduced vaccines and I have given a little history on the development of vaccines i.e (Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur). We have also seen the benefits of vaccines on global health. But today we are going to look at something different; the future of vaccines. We will look at a paper titled "Reverse Vaccinology: Developing Vaccines in the Era of Genomics" which talks about all the cool new advances we have had in vaccine technology since Louis Pasteur.
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| Louis Pasteur, making vaccines |
Since the day Louis Pasteur really learned how to develop vaccines we have been following his technique of inactivating and injecting the disease causing micro organism. But recently in 1995 to be exact a scientist found a way to access the genome of an organism. Which was a huge discovery because now scientists did not have to use Pasteur's technique to develop a vaccine. They could use a computer to design a vaccine with the genome of the microorganism and this new technique was given the term "reverse vaccinology"(Sette, Rapouli 2010).
The paper goes on to explain the types of vaccines that they have been able to develop with this new technique. But the most important fact in the paper is that "reverse vaccinology uses the entire protein repertoire of each pathogen to select the best candidate vaccine antigens"(Sette, Rapouli 2010). What this means is that before when were only using Pasteur's technique there were only a handful of vaccines that we could make, but with this new technology we can make a ton of new vaccine that express antigens just like the micro organism does.
It is amazing that technology in medicine has advanced in such a way that we have been able to use a pathogens own DNA to make a vaccine that would be effective against the pathogens own genome.
First Image: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-louis-pasteur-1822-1895-french-chemist-everett.html
Second image:http://www.biotech-now.org/health/2011/06/podcast-dr-herve-tettelin-on-vaccine-development
Paper: Sette, Allessandro. "Reverse Vaccinology: Developing Vaccines in the Era of Genomics." NIH Public Access, 29 Oct. 2010. Web. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320742/pdf/nihms365496.pdf
That's absolutely amazing! I've never even knew reverse vaccinology existed until now. This is how they make so many vaccines! its so informative and I agree with you Karen, technology these day can really move the medical field forward!
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ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic because I never knew that the procedure to making vaccines has actually changed since Louis Pasture, but what is more intriguing are how the discoveries in genetics and immunology contributed greatly to the current immunization techniques. Vaccination is a statue coming to life in the history of medicine because it is a current example of how scientific fields are interconnected and taking leaps to cure disease. I also like the simplicity in your blog, which makes it really nice to read and understand. Keep it up, well done!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is great information! Technology has come a long way and I do agree with you that technology will defitnetly help us in the medical world for the future. This was very easy to understand. Great job!
ReplyDeleteKaren, this article is very compelling. Reverse vaccinology reminds me of monoclonal antibody drugs, which could also be used to select for any antigen found on pathogens. It’s amazing to see how proactive we have become in developing future vaccines, especially with the aid of computational analysis and simulation. I am excited to see where this technology will lead us in the near future. Your selection of images really enhances the overall look of the blog. Good work.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I love science. Right here. Our ability to not only come up with something as far-fetched as as bacteria based vaccination (bacteria that would usually harm the body, is now helping) It makes me giggle like a little girl. Love how science is forever stepping in new and more exciting frontiers to future ways of bettering the lives of the general public.
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