What is the application of genetic engineering in AIDS vaccine research and development?

About the promising reasons of genetic engineering therapeutic vaccine for AIDS, related knowledge about genetic engineering therapeutic vaccine for AIDS. -Interview with Jin Ningyi, the first researcher of AIDS therapeutic vaccine in China. Success is getting closer and closer to mankind. Professor Jin Ningyi, a famous researcher of AIDS therapeutic vaccine in China, said in the virology laboratory of the 11th Academy of Military Medical Sciences of China People's Liberation Army. After more than ten years, his research on AIDS therapeutic vaccine has completed laboratory work and actively put into preclinical research stage. Jin Ningyi, 48, grew up in Tonghua City, Jilin Province. Director of eleven virology research laboratories of PLA Academy of Military Medical Sciences, director of the key laboratory of genetic engineering of the whole army, subject expert of the "863" project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and member of the subject evaluation team of the State Council. Jin Ningyi has been working for 30 years, engaged in molecular virology, molecular biology and virology vaccine research for 22 years. 65438-0990 Institute of Virology, Kyoto University, Japan carried out cooperative research on HIV genetic engineering vaccine, and invited Jin Ning to Japan as a visiting scholar. Because of his excellent work, the Japanese Ministry of Education hired him as a "qualified resident professor" in the second year, and Jin Ningyi embarked on the road of AIDS prevention and research here. 1993, Jin Ningyi returned to China and came to the virology laboratory that was still affiliated to the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University of the People's Liberation Army. Jin Ningyi recalled that at that time, the laboratory was only half the size of the present office, and the research funding was only 3,900 yuan, with only two graduate students and one skilled worker. "Since then, I have never stopped the vaccine research of virulent infectious virus diseases with the genetic engineering vaccine of AIDS as the main line. "Jin Ningyi said. For Jin Ningyi, who started from scratch, it was quite difficult to start. At that time, there was no research that matched the good hardware conditions and biotechnology research environment. Due to poor equipment conditions, some research progress is slow. Jin Ningyi remembers an experiment in which he borrowed analytical instruments from other units and waited for more than a month. In some vaccine immunization experiments, many test data have no corresponding reagents. On one occasion, the whole laboratory waited for four months to transfer a standard serum from abroad. If there is no biochemical reagent, borrow some first; If there is no equipment, borrow someone else's laboratory; No one knows, understands and supports himself, so Jin Ningyi once gave a speech at some major academic conferences in China, so that his colleagues or relevant units could recognize his research ideas. With the support of superior leaders and the help of peers, Jin Ningyi's laboratory has been gradually improved. Jin Ningyi said that in AIDS vaccine research, the current research direction abroad is mainly preventive vaccine. In China, several teams are studying AIDS prevention vaccines, and the research progress is quite good. Jin Ningyi is the only country that studies the therapeutic vaccine for AIDS. Jin Ningyi believes that from the current trend of AIDS development in society, research departments should not only passively "defend" but also "take the initiative to attack". Jin Ningyi said that vaccines can be divided into preventive vaccines and therapeutic vaccines. The role of preventive vaccine is to prevent virus infection, while the role of therapeutic vaccine is to induce human immune system to play a role in resisting the damage caused by virus, or to enhance the immune system's resistance to virus, aiming at people who have been infected with virus. From 1985 to 1990, the number of HIV-infected people was in a slow growth stage, and in the late 1990s, the number of HIV-infected people entered a rapid growth stage. At present, the number of people infected with AIDS has shown a period of rapid growth and logarithmic growth. Not only prevention, but also treatment for more HIV-infected people. This is Jin Ningyi's idea of carrying out therapeutic vaccine research. AIDS is called "the plague of the century", and mankind has not yet found an ideal way to cure this stubborn disease. At present, the widely used "cocktail" therapy is to let patients take antiviral drugs such as antiretroviral drugs to control the further development of the disease, but it can not completely kill the virus, and it will also have toxic and side effects. The new idea of using "therapeutic vaccine" to inhibit HIV was first put forward by Professor Lu Wei, a China scholar at the University of Paris V. The principle is that since the main problem of AIDS patients is the loss of immune function, the disease should be controlled as long as a method that can effectively trigger and restore the autoimmune ability is found. When some AIDS patients or HIV-infected people often can't bear a series of antiretroviral chemotherapy for a long time, the purpose of using vaccines for treatment is to protect patients from the threat of virus re-transmission under the condition of stopping antiretroviral treatment. At present, the international research on AIDS therapeutic vaccine is still in its infancy. In this respect, Jinning is not backward. In Jinning's eyes, scientific research is like building a building. We should learn to start from scratch and attach importance to basic research. We should not cut corners or cut corners, even if we move a brick. Science should be true, honest and realistic. The characteristic of Jin Ningyi's research team is to start with the study of AIDS pathogens, take the study of virus genome structure and function as the breakthrough point, and make full use of the research results and comprehensive knowledge of modern molecular virology, molecular biology, immunology, epidemiology, bioinformatics and other aspects to engage in the research of new genetic engineering. Jin Ningyi's research has changed from imitation in the past to innovation now, paying attention to the independent intellectual property rights of research results, learning and discussing with an open mind from the researchers of genetic engineering vaccine of AIDS, such as Academician Ceng Yi, and trying to avoid detours. During the experiment, once, a graduate student in Jinning area made 100 related experiments to break through an experimental problem, which lasted for one year. In the face of repeated experiments, graduate students cried, and the experiment finally succeeded. Sometimes, at work, if the research results don't meet expectations, it is common to start all over again. Sometimes even Jin Ningyi finds it difficult to communicate with students. After all, most people don't understand it at first, and some graduate students are going to graduate, waiting for the result. When their students go to social work after graduation, they realize how important this realistic and serious training is to a person's development. "In this case, there is no way. We must follow scientific logic and seek truth from facts. "In front of Jin Ningyi, no matter how difficult the road is, we must take it one step at a time. He believes that every time he climbs a mountain, he will have a good view. Scientific research can't be quick and quick. If every platform is built, the speed will naturally increase and the road will become wider and wider. Even if the final result is not completed in his lifetime, he will not regret it, and future generations will get better and better on this road. Jin Ningyi also really tasted the sweetness of this scientific thought. At present, the recombination vaccines project of genetic engineering treatment/prevention of AIDS developed by him has basically completed the laboratory work, which is in a leading position in China and has reached the international advanced level. Because of his solid basic research work, he has expanded other research on this main line and broadened his horizons. Developed anti-HIV "bio-missile" drugs with independent intellectual property rights, and developed a new genetic engineering anti-tumor therapeutic vaccine. Since then, a number of genetically engineered vaccines such as SARS vaccine research and anti-influenza virus research have been derived from this. The progress made in the research of AIDS therapeutic vaccine not only benefits from Jin Ningyi's solid and rigorous style, but also benefits from the support and help from all sides. When Jin Ningyi just came back from Japan, many key biochemical reagents in the research were not available, but were provided to him voluntarily or free of charge by some friends at home and abroad. In the laboratory construction, the superior organization spent 340,000 yuan to establish P3 biosafety operation laboratory for him in 1996. In terms of funds, the National Natural Science Foundation, the "863" Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province all gave him great support. In the research room on the fourth floor of Jin Ningyi, there are more than 40 researchers, including doctoral students 14 and master students 18. Over the years, 28 doctoral students, 26 master students and 2 postdoctoral students have left the laboratory in Jin Ningyi alone, and some of them have become well-known experts or academic leaders. Among these people, Jin Ningyi never regarded himself as the chief researcher, but mingled with others. Jinning, like everyone else, has no holidays and there is no difference between night and white night. Last year, a research group in Jinning received a commission of 6.5438+0.6 million yuan, while he only got 654.38+0.200 yuan. " Some people say that I take less, but I think, I have gone the same way as them, and I have had difficulties. Taking care of these young people is not a bad thing. "Jin Ningyi believes that the research on anti-AIDS vaccine in the world will eventually succeed. In the aspect of therapeutic vaccine, we should pay attention to the combined application of chemical drugs and vaccines; At the same time, in terms of prevention, it is necessary to focus on the joint application of public education and preventive vaccines in the whole society. Jin Ningyi predicted that China will have three advantages in AIDS treatment in the future, one is chemical drugs, the other is traditional Chinese medicine, and the third is vaccines. China's ability and level of AIDS vaccine research is no less than that of foreign countries. In some parts of the world, the slow progress of AIDS vaccine research is mainly due to the participation of some molecular biologists, biochemists, immunologists, virologists and clinical experts, but the integration and precipitation of the whole knowledge are carried out in their own circles, often fragmented and unable to concentrate on cracking down. Jin Ningyi said that after the AIDS therapeutic vaccine is produced, chemical drugs, traditional Chinese medicine and treatment complement each other, which will produce good results. With chemical drugs, the human body will produce super-strong mutants in a short time, and the virus will easily escape after the drugs go in. Traditional Chinese medicine can mobilize the whole immunity to inhibit virus replication, but this method is not targeted. Therapeutic vaccine just makes up for the above two shortcomings, because therapeutic vaccine has molecular design, antigen structure, immune adjuvant and targeted immune induction, combined with specific anti-HIV "biological missile" drugs, which can specifically kill infected cells of AIDS. Preventive vaccines prevent healthy people in the periphery, while therapeutic vaccines mainly target the source of infection and infected people. At the same time, they also play a preventive role in molecular design. From prevention to treatment, they have built two lines of defense for the spread of AIDS. The laboratory work of AIDS therapeutic vaccine has been completed, and the immunological experiment on 30 monkeys has been completed. If this research wants to go further, it needs to break through two barriers: first, it hopes that relevant enterprises will intervene as soon as possible, especially entrepreneurs with courage and foresight; In addition, preclinical research for industrialization will be carried out from next year, including accelerating the immunological experimental research of simulated human bodies. " My research results are mainly applied to HIV-infected people. When these people are still in the incubation period and the virus does not exist in large quantities, early treatment will be carried out. Once successful, this is a correct evaluation of the work of our research team. "Jin Ningyi said. Jinning saw that many AIDS patients were infected through blood transfusion channels. By 20 10, it is estimated that the number of people infected with HIV in China will exceed 100000. Regarding the prevention and treatment of AIDS, Jin Ningyi is very much in favor of Academician Ceng Yi's proposal to make the whole society pay attention to AIDS again, including the government's advocacy, the popularization of social education, the initiative of medical undertakings, and the price control of pharmaceutical products by pharmaceutical factories, so that some people can use these drugs cheaply. In the United States, anti-AIDS drugs have dropped from $50,000 per person per year to about $20,000.