From: Keith Henson (hkhenson@rogers.com)
Date: Wed 28 May 2003 - 22:14:09 GMT
At 02:05 PM 28/05/03 -0400, Scott wrote:
>I was hoping *you* could elaborate on it.
Off topic except as an example.
>This link says that interleukin-4 is involved in immune system control. I
>don't see this as meaning that IL-4 is an immunosppresive gene.
>Interleukin-4 has normal regulatory functions in relation to the immune system.
>
>Some Aussie researchers were studying ways to sterilize pest mammals (mice
>were the model, but rabbits could have been an eventual target) by
>introducing a zona pellucida protein gene spliced into a mousepox vector,
>which would hopefully induce an auto-immune response upon the eggs of the
>mice, rendering them sterile.
>
>One strain of mice was especially resistant to this mousepox vector so an
>interleukin-4 gene was spliced in as a way of getting one over on the
>mouse strain's immunity. This strategy had the unintended consequence of
>making the vector highly lethal, instead of relatively benign and opening
>up a possible Pandora's box in the eyes of those worried about biological
>terrorism. Is that the jist of what you wanted to convey?
Yes.
Keith Henson
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