The Genomic Revolution Implications for Treatment and Control of Infectious Disease: Working Group Summaries (2006) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Are There Shared Pathways of Attack That Might Provide New Avenues of Prevention?
Are There Shared Pathways of Attack That Might Provide New Avenues of Prevention?
Pages 49-56
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 49... ...
The Problem Can genomics help reveal the molecules involved in these steps of pathogenesis? Bacterial sensors can involve histidine kinases, cyclic AMP or cyclic di-GMP, proteins or toxins with enzymatic activity, and glycolipids and lipoproteins that trigger innate immune receptors.
|
From page 50... ...
:445-448. WORKING GROUP SUMMARY Summary written by: Allison Loudermilk, Graduate Student, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia Working group members: · Lawrence Brody, Senior Investigator, Genome Technology Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute
|
From page 51... ...
The informal division echoed that of the greater scientific community, members of which have fanned out to research the common virulence factors of pathogens or the nature of the host response to infectious disease. Both parties have benefited tremendously from rapid whole-genome sequencing made possible by automation.
|
From page 52... ...
When viruses invade cells, they start replicating; therefore, halting this process would prevent the pathogen from gathering strength. Biotech companies have enjoyed some success stopping viral replication by developing compounds that block viral RNA.
|
From page 53... ...
If biopsies were not an option, maybe good sources of secondary data existed, such as the National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant awarded to a group of scientists to study how the body reacts to injury on a molecular level. Setting aside cytokines, the group members rehashed the concept of blocking potential points of entry.
|
From page 54... ...
Armed with a laptop and the extraordinarily broad, publicly available databases of genome sequencing projects, a group member uncovered some excellent protein targets for drug therapy the previous evening. These targets included HisG in bacteria, His1 in fungi, and others.
|
From page 55... ...
Richard Jenner and Richard Young's 2005 Nature Reviews article, which catalogued 77 different host-pathogen interactions and identified a common host-transcriptional response, also provided some support for the group's view that hosts react similarly to a wide array of pathogens. Discovering individual thresholds for and responses to infection constituted the most difficult task of the group's host strategy and would entail the collection of massive datasets involving many different populations.
|
From page 56... ...
In their short time together, the members of the working group developed testable and workable strategies for blocking the pathways of attack shared by different pathogens. Although the kingdom approach for pathogens may prove more fruitful initially, optimizing the host response to infectious microbes through better therapies and other intervention could change patient care.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.