Introducing an innocuous version of a pathogen into the body causes the immune system to produce antibodies, which will neutralize the “wild” pathogen if it enters the body later. A decade ago, my laboratory showed that an anti-prion antibody could significantly delay – and, in some cases, prevent – infection in mice that had been exposed to prions.
此外，有效的疫苗也有望开发成功。将无害病原体注入体内能刺激免疫系统产生抗体，随后当“野”病原体进入体内，抗体就能把它消灭掉。一年前，我的实验室证明，一种朊病毒抗体能够显著推迟——在一些病例中能够防止——暴露于朊病毒之中的小白鼠的传染。