Scientists at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman are exploring the use of nanomaterials to fight influenza and other viral respiratory infections. If their technology works in humans the way it does in mice, people will prepare for a respiratory viral assault by inhaling an aerosol spray containing tiny protein cages that will activate an immune response in their lungs. The activated immune state will offer protection against any respiratory virus for more than a month. “You would be able to prepare an entire population for an imminent respiratory viral infection, like the swine influenza infections that we just experienced,” says inventor Jim Wiley, PhD, assistant research professor in the department of veterinary molecular biology in MSU’s College of Agriculture. “It’s like having a fire department at your house before the fire,”
Wiley uses hollow protein cages made by a heat-loving bacterium that sets off an immune response in the lungs. The nanomaterial approach is based upon activating inducible Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue, or iBALT, in the lung. iBALT is a naturally occurring tissue that is made in the lung as part of the normal immune response to an infection. Wiley and colleagues described the technology in PLoS One. Their findings show that the presence of iBALT accelerated the recovery of infected mice without causing lung damage or other harmful side effects. The acceleration effect of the treatment disappeared gradually after one month. Currently, the team is testing its iBALT-based therapy in animal models, whose response to influenza is close to that seen in humans. MSU has a patent on the technology, which could be used to prevent or treat a range of pulmonary diseases, including influenza, and to counter bioterrorism threats, such as airborne microbes. The protein cage technology is available for licensing from MSU.
Source: MSU News Service