Speaker: Anthrax Studies Hold Promise
for Better Treatment
by Evelyn Boswell
Someone with ill intent will always be able to isolate the bacterium that causes anthrax,
a researcher from Harvard Medical School said recently at MSU.
"In most of the western United States, with a little bit of knowledge and some petri dishes,
you can isolate
Bacillus anthracis from the soil,"
said R. John Collier. "There's no way it will ever be eradicated from the soil."
The hope, though, is that the person who knows how to isolate the organism won't know how to turn
it into a weapon, Collier added.
Collier is one of the foremost anthrax researchers, according to Mark Quinn, MSU associate
professor of veterinary molecular biology. Speaking to a packed lecture hall, Collier offered
a new possibility for treating and preventing anthrax disease. He also commented on the recent
use of anthrax as a weapon.
"We are all trying to recover from the shock of having suffered an attack of a highly lethal
biological organism last fall ... and trying to find better ways to be prepared in case of
another attack," Collier said.
Anthrax is rarely found in humans. It is much more common in plant-eating animals like
cattle, sheep and bison, Collier continued. An animal's blood cells may house enormous numbers
of the anthrax cells when it dies. As the animal decays, those cells form spores. The spores,
or dormant forms of the bacteria, can live in the soil for years.
Humans can become exposed to them through inhalation, absorption or open wounds, with inhalation
being the most likely means to cause death. Five out of the 11 people who inhaled spores from
the mail last year died.
Vaccination is possible, but the military is the only large segment of the population that's
vaccinated against anthrax, Collier said. The disease can be treated with antibiotics, but it
doesn¹t take much to develop multiresistant strains.
Collier is hopeful about a third option that has evolved from his and other scientists' research
into a three-part toxin. He said three ordinarily harmless proteins combine to create the toxin
that helps anthrax infect its host. By understanding that cycle and intervening at critical times,
scientists can prevent anthrax toxin assembly and possibly ward off its lethal effects.
Collier described three techniques for intervention and said the cycle offers many other
opportunities, as well. All the methods hold promise, Collier said, but he cautioned his listeners
about expecting a new treatment any time soon.
"An awful lot of work needs to be done to see if these are effective for treating animals and
humans," he said.
Quinn said the scientists in his department at MSU are not working with anthrax, but much of
their research focuses on understanding other important infectious diseases.
Susan Wimer-Mackin, director of molecular biology for LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Bozeman,
said LigoCyte doesn't have virulent anthrax, but she is working with anthrax toxins. She is
interested in using the toxins to prevent infections. Wimer-Mackin, who attended Collier's
lecture, said she collaborated with Collier while doing her postdoctoral work at Children's
Hospital in Boston.
Collier's lecture was sponsored by the Frank N. Nelson Trust, MSU's Department of
Veterinary Molecular Biology and the MONTS program.
Evelyn Boswell is the technical writer for the Office of Research, Creativity and Technology Transfer.
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March 2002
