Dr. Bertram Jacobs is a pox virologist working mainly with vaccinia virus (cowpox). One of the reasons to work with vaccinia virus is its potential affordability: it is very cheap to grow, easy to administer (usually by scratching the skin), and doesn’t require a cold chain. Its relative safety for humans means that it can also be used as a delivery system for antigens for viruses such as hepatitis B and HIV. Part of Dr. Jacobs’ work involves the development of a better smallpox vaccine which has the potential to be really effective but will be a much safer vaccine than the one currently available. He has secured two major grants from NIH to support this research.
Dr. Jacobs’ research interests revolve around understanding the molecular mechanisms of action of interferon, particularly as they concern control of gene expression at the level of translation. Interferons are a set of proteins secreted by vertebrate cells in response to virus infection or antigen stimulation. Interferon inhibits viral replication by inducing a double stranded RNA-activated protein kinase, PKR, which can phosphorylate, and inactivate eukaryotic protein synthesis initiation factor 2, thus preventing synthesis of viral proteins. It also acts to inhibit cell proliferation.
Numerous viruses, including vaccinia virus, have been shown to code for inhibitors of the interferon-induced protein kinase. These virus-encoded inhibitors allow the virus to circumvent one of the organism’s main defenses against virus protection and they also appear to prevent infected cells from committing suicide in response to infection. Dr. Jacobs aims to understand the molecular nature of the vaccinia viral kinase inhibitors and what role these inhibitors have in replication of these viruses in mammalian cells in culture and in infected animals. The goal is to use these studies in the development of safer, more effective vaccines for smallpox and other human and animal pathogens.
