Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc (IPIX)

[BonelessCat]

Just a thought from a major publication in 1985:

SCIENCE WATCH; GERM-KILLING BLOOD AGENT IS IDENTIFIED
Published: October 29, 1985

SCIENTISTS have discovered natural substances in human white blood cells that attack a wide range of germs, according to reports in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The substances attack staphylococci and E. coli bacteria as well as some disease-causing fungi and viruses.

The scientists at University of California at Los Angeles have named the substances ''defensins.'' (emphasis mine)

They said that further analysis may make it possible to design artificial defensins superior to those that exist naturally and that their discovery may improve understanding of the body's means of resisting infections. The knowledge will eventually lead to improved treatment, they said.

The substances were found in the most common type of defensive white blood cells, neutrophils. Such cells are attracted to sites of infection where they destroy invading microbes. The defensins are thought to be important in the process of destruction.

The scientists found six varieties in rabbits' cells, and later identified three others in human neutrophils. The substances were analyzed down to the specific sequence of the 29 or 30 subunits, called amino acids, that make up the defensin peptides. The three human defensins were found to be identical except for the amino acids at one end of the chains.

Reseachers were Drs. Robert Lehrer, Michael Selsted, Tomas Ganz, Dorothy Szklarek, James Schilling, Silvia Harwig and Kathleen Daher.
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/29/science/science-watch-germ-killing-blood-agent-is-identified.html