Within the field of synthetic biology, there is a
development where cells or other particles can be altered such that they
operate on slightly different mechanisms than the purely natural versions. This is done with respect to amino acids, the
key components that form proteins, which then form and catalyze a-majority of
the functions in an organism. In this
case, human cells make use of 20 specific amino acids for various functions,
but researchers are now looking how this specific factor can be utilized for
new breakthroughs. One such breakthrough
has been made by a team of researchers at Peking University in China in regards
to these artificial amino acids and viruses.
The research team first began by taking the concept of partially synthesizing
particles based upon the artificial amino acids and had managed to create virus
particles that were exact copies of the wild type, but functioned slightly
differently. When it comes to virology
this is very important, especially in regards to vaccine development.
It is a general characteristic that most modern vaccines are
altered or attenuated to some degree, by various methods such as heat or
chemicals, however, in making such a change the vaccine may have a slightly lower
efficacy. This is due to the idea that
the altered virus particles in the vaccine are not exact versions of the wild
type and could potentially result in a less effective immune stimulation and
future immunity. This is where the
researchers connected the potential of the exact, functioning copies of the
wild virus with the idea for a better vaccine with a higher efficacy while not compromising
for safety. By utilizing the new
partially synthetic virus in the human host, the particles were unable to
replicate effectively due to the lack in the artificial amino acids that are
not found in human cells, thus rendering the virus as accurate as possible
without the risk of reversion. Another
interesting trait of these virus particles is that they possess the ability to
block the function and replication cycle of other, actual wild type virus in
the cell. This mechanism functions by
interfering directly in the assembly of new particle genomes, since the altered
particle looks and acts just like the wild type, the process draws segments
from both particles effectively neutralizing any formed with the contaminated
genomes. This breakthrough offers a new
avenue for vaccine research and development, and could potentially have a
significant impact on how we develop vaccines in the future as the abilities of
synthetic biology rapidly develop.
-Ethan Wentworth
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