Bovine Study Shows the Important Role of Genetics

This article summarizes a study led by Yana Safonova in which black angus cows were studied as well as their responses to the Bovine Respiratory Disease vaccine. BRD is the leading cause of natural death for cows, and the medicine is extremely expensive, causing the cattle industry to spend about $900 million dollars a year. Vaccination of the cows would help decrease these expenses greatly. The question that the researchers wanted to answer was why are certain black angus cows reacting differently to the same vaccine. Using a computational tool, the research team analyzed sequenced data from the antibodies black angus cows produced as a result of the vaccine.

The researched found that there unique structure of the antibodies produced by the vaccine, and the how efficient the vaccine was is determined prior to an immune response. Because the team’s method can reveal these genetic markers. This way, cattle producers can use this information to selectively breed cows that are less susceptible to this disease based on their genetic information. This is the largest immunogenetics study across any species to date. Research projects similar to this will allow scientists to find certain patterns in the human genome that can determine a person's reaction to a vaccine prior to receiving it. 

This finding was extremely fascinating, and after reading it, I immediately began to think about how the methods used during this study could impact human beings that are genetically predisposed to certain diseases. With the new strains of COVID 19 and the increased need for vaccines, this type of study would work for a plethora of subjects. The vaccination process can be properly examined across different genomes. More information pertaining to this study can be found here.

Covid-19 Vaccination Complications

COVID-19 VACCINATION COMPLICATION

    In the last few months, the Covid-19 vaccine has come out, many people agree with receiving the vaccination and some not so much. Regardless, if you agree with it or not, every vaccination always has a possible complication either short term or long term. 

    Some serious cases, involved anaphylaxis, TTS (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome), myocarditis and/or pericarditis, and even death. It is important to speak with your own healthcare provider, to determine the risk you might take if you already have previous medical conditions. This vaccine is place on the arm, of your deltoid muscle because it is an intramuscular injection. There is also some side effects an individual can experience from the vaccine such as pain, swelling, and redness on the arm the shot was given. After a few hours, you can experience fever, nausea, body aches, headache and etc. These side effects should stop after a few days. 

1. Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC

2. Possible Side Effects After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine | CDC

Allelic Drive

A new CRISPR technology is creating an allelic drive according to Science Daily. It has gRNA which is a guide RNA that locates undesired gene variants that CRISPR can cut and replace with desired version of the gene. This application makes it much easier for scientists to modify populations. The allelic drive allows letter by letter replacement instead of whole sections. It is mostly used in agriculture currently but it will be used on disease carrying insects. Eventually allelic drive will be used to study human disease and hopefully aid in cures of diseases.
I think with rise of outbreaks of human diseases that could be kept down with vaccinations that people choose to deny, it could allow the human population to eliminate diseases without having to use a vaccine. So many people are straying from vaccines which is not helpful for the population.

Guinea, Last Nation With Ebola, May Soon Be Declared Free of Virus

       
   
           Citizens of Guinea anxiously wait on pins and needles as they loom to expect the declaration that their country is finally Ebola free.  They are the last nation still suffering from the virus.  They have to wait about 42 days (The amount of time for two incubation periods of the disease to take place) as many people are still being monitored.  The final patient in the world in an active treatment center was a 3-week old girl, Nubia Soumah just recently tested negative twice.

          Nubia will also be the first infant of a mother that had the disease to survive.  The virus has crippled the economy and regular day life of this country, so the citizens of Guinea are waiting patiently so that they can truly start to repair the damage the virus has done.

        What stood out to me in this article was the work done by an organization known as Doctors Without Borders.  Doctors without Borders is a non profit organization that medical assistance to third world countries.  As a biology major it is something truly inspiring to see these doctors going overseas and treating Ebola patients.  I was always amazed by the work that they do.

         Overall with Guinea nearly Ebola free it just shows how advanced our vaccination technology is present day with a disease that was very frightening and now is almost completely gone.


Original Post

Doctor's without Borders

Prioritizing Flu Immunisations Based on Genetic Testing

As cold and flu season lingers in the near future, scientists have been researching different factors that affect how severely an individual suffers from flu symptoms. Researchers are now saying that there could be a genetic link that could explain how seriously a person can suffer from the flu. About one in 400 people carries a mutated gene called IFITM3 that increases their chances of suffering a serious illness when infected with the flu virus. When functioning properly, the IFITM3 gene encodes a protein that helps the body's cells resist viral infections. Paul Kellam, a virus geneticist, believes that testing for this mutated gene could help doctors identify individuals who are not usually seen as being at risk for infection. To solidify the belief that this variant in the IFITM3 gene can cause people to suffer more severely when infected by the flu, a US-Chinese team looked into those infected by the swine flue or bird flu. Of the 445 infected with either the swine flu or bird flu, individuals who carried the IFITM3 gene mutation were 24% more likely to have suffered a severe infection. Kellam hopes that this discovery of the IFITM3 mutation and its influence on an individual's defenses against an infection will lead to new anti-viral drugs that are more likely to help people resist infection. For those who do carry the IFITM3 variant, researchers are looking into methods of boosting the IFITM3 protein to help people better resist the infection.

Personally, I believe that everyone should be vaccinated for the flu, regardless of genetic makeup. While there are groups of people who are more likely to become infected, it just makes sense to me that everyone should want to lessen their chances of getting the flu. Even though the vaccines won't prevent everyone from getting the flu, it should help decrease the severity of the infection once infected. Hopefully research being performed by Kellam and other scientists will help people understand the importance of being vaccinated.

The original article can be found here.

Serious Flu Risk Could be Identified with Genetic Test

A recent study shows that a person's genetic make-up could make them pre-disposed to severe infections. A genetic test has been created to identify people and assess their risk to contracting the Flu. The test is being used to encourage people to get seasonal vaccination. Approximately 1/400 people carry a variant of gene IFITM3 , which "normally encodes a protein that helps the body's cells resist viral infection, but this natural defense is impaired in people who carry the mutated version of the gene."(theGuardian)

I think this is interesting because I personally have never gotten the flu nor the flu vaccine, and thankfully never gotten sick. Now that there is a genetic test to see if a person is pre-disposed to getting seriously ill, maybe it will cut down on how many vaccines need to be administered.


Original Article

DNA Based Vaccines

President Obama has decided to request millions of dollars to research vaccinations based off DNA of patients.  Published in the New York Times, the article discussed the possibility of being able to target disease based off of a mutation.  The article references a gene that was found by Dr. Francis S. Collins, which causes Cystic Fibrosis.  The FDA has recently approved a drug which helps reverse the effects of Cystic Fibrosis.

The new drug, Ivacaftor, is the first of it's kind.  Instead of relieving symptoms, it targets the broken genes from CF.  Cystic Fibrosis can be caused by a few different mutations in the CFTR gene, which codes for a CFTR protein.  The protein can be wrongly made, not completely made, or not work properly.  Ivacaftor has the ability to correct the protein to make sure that it properly works.

I believe that taking a genetic approach to develop drug treatment is a great idea.  Many different strands of bacteria are becoming antibiotic resistant, which is a constant threat to public health.  Taking a genetic approach would eliminate the need to constantly attempt to discover newer drugs.  It also gives the potential for other genetic diseases to be treated.  I think that making the healthcare preventative or personal would allow for more success in eliminating certain illnesses, so creating a new form of treatment is a great way to attempt to solve the problem.

PLANTS 'VACCINATED' AGAINST VIRUS

A New York Times article written by Harold M. Schmeck Jr. discusses how a group of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences have genetically altered plants to become immune to viruses.  Plants do not have an immune system like animals.  They cannot produce antibodies to protect themselves from illness.  These scientists have implanted "key virus substances", not the entire virus.

The purpose of using genetic engineering is to incorporate new traits efficiently and in a way that leaves little doubt as to what has actually been transplanted and what the effects will be.

This could be a major improvement for farmers.  They will be able to produce crops without the fear of losing them to viruses.  This will be a positive increase in the economy.