American soldiers someday could head into combat protected by vaccines developed as an outgrowth of an IANR scientist's work.
Mike Meagher, a biochemical engineer in NU's departments of food science and technology and biological systems engineering, is working under a U.S. Army contract to develop technology to produce vaccines that fight botulism, a deadly neurotoxin used in biological warfare.
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| Mike Meagher, a biochemical engineer in NU's departments of food science and technology and biological systems engineering, is working under a contract from the U.S. Army to produce the technology necessary to make botulism vaccines. Photo: Mark Hansen |
Meagher's experience in designing and operating NU's Fermentation Facility and his work in fermentation and protein purification, done originally to help university researchers and biotechnology companies, led to the Army contract.
Botulism is the scientific name for a type of severe food poisoning that results from the microorganism Clostridium botulinum and has seven strains.
During unsafe storage or canning conditions the C. botulinum spores germinate. Bacteria grows, producing the botulism neurotoxin.
With significant dosage the toxin causes muscular paralysis, breathing disturbances and even death.
In biological weapons, toxins are delivered by bombs or missiles and will kill unprotected soldiers.
"The whole reason for this project is that it is known that Saddam Hussein has botulism bombs. At least it is common knowledge in the Pentagon," Meagher said.
Just before the 1990 Gulf War, the Army immunized 100 horses with C. botulinum toxin to produce horse serum to treat soldiers if needed. Victims must be treated within two hours of toxin exposure, so time is a concern.
Also a concern is the potential incompatibility of horse antibody with human recipients.
Meagher is in the second year of a three-year contract to develop processes to produce anti-botulism vaccines for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). The contract may be extended three more years.
No C. botulinum bacteria or toxin will be on the Lincoln campus, Meagher emphasized. Any work that requires the toxin is done at USAMRIID.
Meagher's research group is responsible for developing the entire process to produce the vaccine. This includes fermentation, breaking open the yeast cell to release the vaccine, and then purifying the vaccine.
Meagher then will transfer the process to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) which, unlike the NU lab, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make human-injectable vaccines.
The material produced at WRAMC will be used first in pre-clinical trials in animals. Studies done so far on mice show that, "In mice, the vaccine works," Meagher said.
Once animal studies are concluded, researchers will inject humans with the vaccine and check blood samples for toxin antibodies, or resistance to the botulism toxin.
Other military projects are being shut down because of budget constraints, Meagher said, but "our project continues to be a high priority, because of the fact that they need the vaccine. Instead of having to get 100 horses ready to make a serum that is only effective in a short window of time, now the Army will be able to vaccinate soldiers against this biological agent."
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| Lab Technician Karen Potter connects a sample to an analysis machine as part of researcher Mike Meagher's work on botulism vaccine. Photo: Mark Hansen |
The NU research team consists of Meagher, post-doctoral student Vijay Chiruvolu and Research Technologists Mark Bevins and Karen Potter. Elena Vassilieva, now at Penn State, was instrumental in developing the purification process during her 1.5 years on the project.
The vaccine is just part of a planned defense against biological weapons, Meagher said. The Army is also looking at vaccines against anthrax, streptococcus, and the plant toxoid, ricin.
The toxin is extremely potent and the threat from botulism bombs is very serious, Meagher said, although the danger varies. "It all depends upon the concentration. One in two people who weigh 160 pounds will die from a dose of 72 nanograms of toxin (a nanogram is one billionth of a gram). If you have the vaccine, you're OK."
--Dan Holder