The Impact of “Omic” and Imaging Technologies on Assessing the Host Immune Response to Biodefence Agents

Abstract

Understanding the interactions between host and pathogen is important for the development and assessment of medical countermeasures to infectious agents, including potential biodefence pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis, Ebola virus, and Francisella tularensis. This review focuses on technological advances which allow this interaction to be studied in much greater detail. Namely, the use of “omic” technologies (next generation sequencing, DNA, and protein microarrays) for dissecting the underlying host response to infection at the molecular level; optical imaging techniques (flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy) for assessing cellular responses to infection; and biophotonic imaging for visualising the infectious disease process. All of these technologies hold great promise for important breakthroughs in the rational development of vaccines and therapeutics for biodefence agents.

Effect of over expressing protective antigen on global gene transcription in Bacillus anthracis BH500

“…At the present time, there is no information on gene expression patterns in B. anthracis expressing recombinant proteins at high cell density. Most transcriptome studies in B. anthracis have focused on networks involved in host-pathogen interactions 20 , 21 and metabolism 22 .…”