Science and technology

科学技术

Flu vaccines and synthetic biology

流感病毒与合成生物学

Going viral

向病毒行进

A speedy way to make a vaccine

快速制造疫苗的方法
 

IF A new and deadly strain of influenza were to arise, putting together a vaccine against it in the least possible time would be a priority.

如果出现了一枝新型致命性流感毒株，那么当务之急就是要在尽可能短的时间里拼凑出对应的疫苗。

To test how quickly that could be done a group of researchers have just had a race with themselves.

一支研究小组为了测试到底疫苗“出栏”速度有多快，小组内部展开了一次速度竞赛。

They have not quite matched the show sometimes given by workers at the Venetian arsenal, who would assemble a galley in a single day in order to overawe visiting foreign dignitaries.

当然和威尼斯工人是绝对比不了的，他们为了震慑游客会时不时表演一番在一天之内安装一艘大帆船。

But Philip Dormitzer, Craig Venter and their colleagues did create the crucial component of a flu jab in four days and four hours.

但是，菲利普·多米提奇、克雷格·文特尔和同事们的的确确在四天零四小时研发了流感病毒疫苗了一支重要组成部分。

Dr Dormitzer, who works for Novartis, a drug company, and Dr Venter, eponymous founder of the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, reported their record-breaking attempt in this week's Science Translational Medicine.

多米提奇博士在诺华制药公司工作，文特尔博士是位于圣地亚哥J·克雷格·文特尔的同名创始人。本周《科学转化医学》杂志刊载了二人创纪录的研发结果。

It began with the transmission to them from America's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority of the sequence data for the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of a unknown flu virus.

一开始，他们得到“美国生物医学高级研究所和发展管理局”的序列数据，关于不知名的流感病毒的血凝素和神经氨酸酶基因的数据。

The team took this information and used it to make DNA that contained both the gene sequences themselves and the genetic apparatus needed to let a cell read those sequences and produce proteins from them.

小组利用数据制作包含两种成分的DNA，分别是基因本身序列和需要细胞识别这些序列并且从中产生蛋白质的基因组织。

They then put these pieces of synthetic DNA—which were, in effect, tiny chromosomes—into cell cultures derived from dog kidneys, which have been found particularly effective for this kind of work.

之后，研究人员将合成的DNA碎片植入从犬类肾脏中提取的细胞培养物中。经研究发现，犬类肾脏的细胞培养物质非常适合此类实验。

The dog-kidney cells duly churned out viruses, suitable for seeding the process of vaccine manufacture, that contained the proteins in question.

犬类肾脏不负众望地大量产出病毒，当然也就适合批量生产含尚未定性蛋白质的疫苗。

Since these two proteins are the variable elements that stop new strains of flu being recognised by the immune systems of people who have had influenza in the past, this is an important step forward.

过去人们感染流感，他们的免疫系统会受到新流感毒株的影响，而如今这两种易变的蛋白质可以阻止影响继续下去，也算是向前迈出了重要的一步。

Experiments on ferrets showed that these seed viruses stimulated the animals' immune systems in the desired way, producing protective immunity.

在白鼬身上做的实验，按照预期显示出这些种子病毒刺激到了白鼬的免疫系统，白鼬体内产生出保护性抗体。

Having a seed is not the same thing as being able to make a vaccine in large quantities.

种苗实验并不难代表大量临床实验。

But it is an important first step.

但这是重要的开始。

Novartis, in collaboration with the commercial arm of Dr Venter's enterprise, Synthetic Genomics, hopes to create a bank of seed viruses using this method.

文特尔博士合成基因公司商业部门和诺华制药有合作项目，诺华制药希望能够利用这种方法研制出大量的源病毒。

That will speed matters up even more.

为的是可以加快疫苗研发进度。

But the fact that something not actually in the bank could be knocked up at short notice if necessary is comforting.

事实其实是这样的：如果必要性能够让人觉得心宽，那么只要一声令下不确定的东西也可以准备完毕。