An explanation of the vaccine process from Dr. Gary K. Koski, Ph.D., long-time associate of Dr. Czerniecki, and collaborator in his vaccine research. He sent this to Uschi (Pennies In Action) when she asked for a non-scientific explanation of the research. Unfortunately, there is not really a simple way to explain what we do in a very concise way that is both accurate and can be easily understood by non-scientists. However, I shall do my best.
If T lymphocytes are the fighting generals of the immune system, dendritic cells act as the reconnaissance scouts. DCs like to take up station at sites of anatomical barriers, i.e. where the “inside” meets the “outside”, (the skin, mucous membranes, alimentary canal). Here they wait for two things, signs of infection and/or inflammatory tissue damage. The surface of a DC is studded with specialized receptors, which act as sensors for infection or inflammation. When they contact such signals, a specialized maturation/activation/migration program is initiated. DCs collect a “snapshot” of the proteins present in the environment of the activation signals (such as proteins from an infectious agent), gain access to draining lymphatic vessels, and travel to the lymph nodes.
The lymph nodes are populated by many T lymphocytes. The DCs seek out T cells and “present” the proteins acquired at the peripheral sites. The T cells then become activated by the DCs and then go out on a “search and destroy” mission to eliminate anything that resembles the proteins presented by the DC (such as a bacterium infecting the body). Now here are the reasons why we think our approach is giving us superior results. Please note in many cases, we were not the first to try some of these things (though in certain instances we were), but mostly it is the fact that we assembled a number of innovations into an integrated strategy.
