RAWALPINDI: The National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) is collaborating with Queen Mary University London (QMUL) to develop antibodies termed as "monocolonal antibodies" for dengue diagnostics and treatment which could lead to the eradication of dengue from Pakistan, said Dr Liaqat Ali of NUMS here on Sunday.
Dr Liaqat Ali, a PhD scholar as well as Postdoc from University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany, with extensive research experience in infectious diseases has been working on various projects related to dengue diagnostics and therapeutics.
"Currently, there is no vaccine or specific treatment available for dengue infection hence, there is a need for the development of novel antiviral drugs. I am working on the use of RNAi technology to inhibit dengue viral replication to provide a new therapeutic strategy to combat and treat severe dengue disease", said Dr Liaqat who has been awarded Rs 9.45 million by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for his ongoing project on dengue, which has again started infecting people in some parts of the country.
At present, dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral infection in Pakistan and rest of the world. In Pakistan, the transmission of serotypes DENV-2 & DENV-3 (two types of dengue) are dominant, making Pakistan a hyper-endemic region for dengue viral disease due its tropical and humid environment.
He is working on potential treatment for Dengue in collaboration with Prof. Angray Kang from QMUL. They will screen sera of dengue patients who have fully recovered from infection. "Peripheral blood mononuclear cells will be isolated to access the antibody encoding genes. Using state of the art molecular display technology, human antibodies against dengue virus capsid will be isolated and characterized. Ultimately, these will lead to potential treatments against dengue. This will be a long-term project involving considerable technology transfer to NUMS, from the QMUL", said Dr. Liaqat.
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