DRACO: Death to the Virus : THE PROCESS IS… By doug — November 17, 2011 In a paper published 27 July [1], researchers from MIT reported successful tests in mice with a new drug that holds the promise of being a cure to all viruses. The drug, DRACO (Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizer), works as a “broad-spectrum” antiviral, killing virus-hijacked cells by targeting double-stranded RNA produced in the viral replication process. DRACO proved successful against all 15 viruses tested “including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever and several other types of hemorrhagic fever.” [2] We may expect results from cell trials against AIDS within the next 12 months. DRACO is but one broad-spectrum therapeutic being developed as part of a project called PANACEA (Pharmacological Augmentation of Nonspecific Anti-pathogen Cellular Enzymes and Activities) headed by Dr.
I met with Dr. Could you give us a broad overview of the Panacea project? Sure. It works with both. Intracellular Caspase-Linked Chimeric Antigen Receptor from Immunology forum on Nature Network. Abstract The Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR), first devised by Gross et al in 1989 (1), has proven effective against cancer as well as immunosuppressive viruses. Landmark work done by Carl June M.D. et al. led to a recent clinical trial in which CD-19 specific-CAR transfected autologous T cells were reinfused to a patient with chemorefractory Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia (CLL). This patient, along with another in the same trial, achieved a complete response within 30 days and remained in remission 10 months after treatment.
A specific immune system response was detected and memory effector cells were generated. The only high level toxic events were Tumor Lysis Syndrome and Hypogammaglobulinemia the later expected as the CAR was specific for CD19 which is expressed on all early B cells (2). The historical significance of Dr. The Chimeric Antigen Receptor The CAR is made up of four components; the transport (leader), the antigen binding (scFv), the transmembrane link, and the signaling. Watch out for DRACO - MIT Scientist Develops Vaccine To "Cure All Viral Diseases" From: ll.mit.edu DRACO - Vaccines - Nanotech - MIT - DARPA MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers develop a technique to cure a broad range of viruses Viral pathogens pose serious health threats worldwide. For clinical viruses such as HIV or hepatitis, emerging viruses such as avian or swine influenza, and highly lethal viruses such as Ebola or smallpox that might be used in bioterrorist attacks, relatively few therapeutics or prophylactics (preventatives) exist.
Most therapeutics that do exist are highly specific for one virus, are ineffective against virus strains that become resistant to them, or have adverse effects on patients. As part of the PANACEA (for Pharmacological Augmentation of Nonspecific Anti-pathogen Cellular Enzymes and Activities) project, researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed and demonstrated a novel broad-spectrum antiviral approach, called DRACO (for Double-stranded RNA [dsRNA] Activated Caspase Oligomerizer).
Dr. Dr. Source: ll.mit.edu Red Ice Radio. New drug could cure nearly any viral infection. Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.
The microscope images above show that DRACO successfully treats viral infections. In the left set of four photos, rhinovirus (the common cold virus) kills untreated human cells (lower left), whereas DRACO has no toxicity in uninfected cells (upper right) and cures an infected cell population (lower right). The drug works by targeting a type of RNA produced only in cells that have been infected by viruses. Few antivirals available. DRACO (antiviral) - Wiki. DRACO ("Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer") is a group of experimental antiviral drugs under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
DRACO is reported to have broad-spectrum efficacy against many infectious viruses, including Marburg marburgvirus and Zaire ebolavirus, dengue flavivirus, Amapari and Tacaribe arenavirus, Guama bunyavirus, H1N1 influenza and rhinovirus. DRACO is reported to induce rapid apoptosis selectively in virus-infected mammalian cells, while leaving uninfected cells unharmed.[1][2] DRACO is selective for virus-infected cells. Differentiation between infected and healthy cells is made primarily via the length and type of RNA transcription helices present within the cell. NOSH Aspirin. DRACOs: New Antivirals Against Pretty Much Everything? I've been meaning to write about this paper from the RIder group at MIT's Lincoln Labs, which shows some very interesting approaches to killing off a wide variety of viruses. They've dubbed these new agents DRACOs, for Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligimerizers, which is certainly one of those acronyms with a lot packed into it.
So now to unpacking it. The first key point is the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) part. For a long time, that was thought to be a form that isn't wasn't found in human cells (as opposed to single-stranded stuff). We now know that short dsRNAs (up to twenty-odd base pairs) are part of human biology, but viruses produce much longer strands of it during their replication process - or, more accurately, they hijack human cellular machinery to produce it. (Viruses, as a rule, don't do anything for themselves that they don't absolutely have to). This approach tries to speed up the dsRNA-means-apoptosis connection. How did they work? Now comes the next concern. Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Therapeutics. Currently there are relatively few antiviral therapeutics, and most which do exist are highly pathogen-specific or have other disadvantages.
We have developed a new broad-spectrum antiviral approach, dubbed Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) that selectively induces apoptosis in cells containing viral dsRNA, rapidly killing infected cells without harming uninfected cells. We have created DRACOs and shown that they are nontoxic in 11 mammalian cell types and effective against 15 different viruses, including dengue flavivirus, Amapari and Tacaribe arenaviruses, Guama bunyavirus, and H1N1 influenza. We have also demonstrated that DRACOs can rescue mice challenged with H1N1 influenza. Figures Citation: Rider TH, Zook CE, Boettcher TL, Wick ST, Pancoast JS, et al. (2011) Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Therapeutics.
Editor: Suryaprakash Sambhara, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, United States of America Copyright: © 2011 Rider et al. Introduction Figure 1.