Research department studies small, thinks big
by Michael Baker
Public Relations
You can’t see what James Norris, Ph.D., and his colleagues are studying.
Not without a high-powered microscope.
As chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Norris and his faculty study bacteria, viruses, and immune cells too small for the human eye to observe.
But the department’s work with these microscopic entities may yield significant rewards in the future, thanks to its multifaceted, yet focused, studies.
According to Norris, the department concerns itself with four main areas of research: microbiology, gene therapy, immunology, and biodefense.
A particularly useful application of the department’s research in microbiology exists in a process called bioremediation. Bioremediation involves cleansing an environment—soil, sediment, or water—that is contaminated with toxic substances. In most cases, microorganisms injected into the soil break down the hazardous materials, reducing the level of pollution in the affected environment.
“Bioremediation often deals with a contamination problem that may have been present for many years,” Norris said. “A related approach, biotreatment, focuses on biodegrading a fresher source of hazardous compounds, such as those found at a waste treatment plant.”
Research
specialist Hong Yu suspends bacteria in Dr. Jian-yun Dong's lab. Later,
Hong will extract DNA from the bacteria to create adenovirus vectors.
In both processes, he added, researchers carefully consider the metabolism and genetics of microbial communities and the practical aspects of applying appropriate biotechnology in order to properly eliminate contamination. A renewable energy project has arisen from this work as well.
Another important departmental research area involves gene therapy. Norris said that the current focal point of research in gene therapy involves treating cancer and cystic fibrosis. Specifically, the division has experimented with treating cancerous cells in the prostate, bladder, kidneys, head, and neck through a process called apoptosis.
In apoptosis, Norris explained, scientists destroy cancerous cells using programmed cell death.
“First, we deliver viruses into the affected area,” he said. “These viruses infect cancerous cells, killing them by inducing apoptosis and creating apoptotic vesicles.” The first viral attack infects only 20 to 30 percent of the cancerous cells, but the process doesn’t end there.
Once the infected cells break down and vesicles form, these new agents transmit the apoptosis, inducing signals to adjacent cells and gradually breaking down more of the cancer and its blood supply. Norris calls this spreading process “the bystander effect.” Still, he remains dissatisfied with the current effectiveness of the approach. While some of the results have been encouraging, inducing apoptosis isn’t a miracle cure. Therefore, Norris and his colleagues are working to improve the process.
“It’s been our experience that many of the vehicles used to deliver the cancer-fighting viruses are inefficient,” Norris said. “Our goal is to either improve the delivery method or, ideally, to improve apoptosis induction and bystander activity.
“Studies using acid ceramidase inhibitors—developed in the Department of Biochemistry—combined with our current gene therapy vectors are yielding excellent results in our mouse xenograft models of prostate cancer,” he added.
Immunology represents the most mature area of the department’s research, with faculty studying arteriosclerosis, autoimmune disease, complement biology, mucosal immunity and cystic fibrosis. Two developing aspects of this program are vaccine development and tumor immunology.
Currently, Norris said, the vaccine group has focused on creating important vaccines for emerging infectious diseases and biodefense use. The department seeks to recruit a tumor immunologist as well.
A final responsibility of the department—and one that became increasingly important in recent years—lies in biodefense research. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the resulting Anthrax scare, the United States government set aside $30 billion to further biodefense studies. A portion of that funding, awarded to MUSC, has allowed the department to develop a plan for creating a center for biodefense research.
According to the prospectus, the Center for Biodefense Research, Development and Treatment would “consist of a medical, educational, and scientific base that develops therapeutic targets, small molecules, vaccines, physician/administrator education, and community mental health approaches to prevent and/or treat victims of biological warfare attacks.”
Currently, departmental researchers study less dangerous bacterial and viral pathogens in BSL-2 laboratories. Norris said the department believes it will have NIH funding in place to build a BSL-3 animal and research laboratory within the next 18 months. He gave credit to Michael Swindle, DVM, and the Office of Research Development for aiding the swiftness of the process. In the new labs, researchers will be able to work with more dangerous pathogens, such as SARS and the West Nile virus.
With so much going on, one might think the department has lost its focus. On the contrary, Norris asserted that his goal is to concentrate his efforts and those of the current 13 faculty members in research areas with a high likelihood of being funded and/or promoting biotechnology development. The latter is a relatively untapped source of revenue at MUSC.
Norris took pride in the fact that all four departmental divisions have strong relationships with each other and solid working groups.
“I’d like to see the department reach a critical mass in each of the four divisions,” he said, referring to an ideal number of faculty members working in each of the departmental foci.
With regards to the department’s educational future, Norris hopes to see students translating their experiences into research careers in academia, biotechnology companies, or the translation of basic science to clinical application.
“There’s a real opportunity, especially in bioremediation, gene therapy and vaccine development, to take knowledge a step further,” he explained, “by pursuing entrepreneurial enterprises in both the basic and translational or applied domains.”
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