Скачать или смотреть Prof Peter Timms - Developing vaccines against the two major infectious diseases threatening koalas

The Cambridge BioSoc were excited to welcome our next speaker - Professor Peter Timms, Deputy Director at Genecology Research Centre and professor of microbiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia! His research group works on developing vaccines and diagnostics for chlamydial diseases in humans and animals, as well as analysing the genomics, cell biology and pathogenicity of such diseases. Prof Timms described his talk as follows:

'Wild koala populations continue to experience serious declines as a result of several threatening factors including, (i) loss of habitat, (ii) motor vehicle trauma; (iii) dog attacks; (iv) infectious diseases, primarily Chlamydia, but also the newly discovered koala retrovirus. Chlamydial infections are associated with diseases ranging from ocular disease leading to blindness, as well as urinary and genital tract disease, leading to female infertility. Modelling shows that targeting chlamydial disease would have a major impact on stabilising population decline. Our studies have demonstrated that koalas can be safely immunised with a vaccine containing a mixture of chlamydial major outer membrane protein (MOMP) antigens combined with a single dose subcutaneous regime. We have recently conducted several wild koala field trials and observed strong, specific and long-lasting immune responses in the vaccinated koalas; high titre antibody responses (as measured by ELISA and also in vitro neutralisation) as well as Chlamydia-specific cytokine responses (interferon-gamma and IL-17 in particular). For animals which were Chlamydia PCR positive at the time of vaccination, we observed a significant reduction in their infection PCR load. We also observed protection from progression to clinical disease in the vaccinated animals. We also conducted a small trial to vaccinate animals which already have clinical signs of ocular disease. Instead of the normal practice of administering antibiotics (chloramphenicol, daily for 28 days, which severely disrupts the animal’s gut microbiome) we vaccinated animals with a single dose, 3-MOMP vaccine. For all vaccinated animals, their Chlamydia PCR load decreased, and for 6 of the 7 animals, ocular disease regressed and the animals could be released back into the wild without further treatment. Most recently we have also begun to develop a vaccine against the koala retrovirus, with promising results.'

Prof Timms' work has also been used in modelling human chlamydial infections, as featured in an article in the New York Times - definitely worth watching!