Medical Uses for Ricin
Ricin/Anthrax Combination VaccineAs previously elaborated upon, ricin is a highly effective toxin with potential for use in acts of bioterrorism. Though no cure for ricin exposure exists, researchers have developed a promising vaccine against aerosolized ricin exposure. RiVax is considered the leading ricin subunit antigen. Though recently, researchers went one step further to effectively combine RiVax with the leading anthrax protective antigen, VeloThrax (a dominant-negative inhibitor), as a means of biodefense.
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Anti-Viral ActivityRicin A chain (RTA) is a ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) found in ricin. As noted in the mechanism section, RIPs inactivate eukaryotic ribosomes by removing an adenine residue in ribosomal RNA. Researchers found that RTA is an ideal test protein for inhibition of a broad spectrum of viruses, including HIV.
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