Edith M. Taylor

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Edith M. Taylor (1899-1993) was a Canadian biochemist known primarily for her work in producing novel techniques in vaccine production, especially her work on the production of diphtheria toxoid, while employed as a researcher by Connaught Laboratories in Toronto, Canada.

Contents

Early life and education

Taylor was born in 1899 in Toronto to a family of 10 children. [1] She attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a PhD in Chemistry in 1924. [1]

Career

In 1925, Taylor began work with Connaught Laboratories, [1] a public medical research group associated with the University of Toronto. [2] One of her first projects at Connaught involved major contributions to the culturing process of diphtheria toxoid, a non-toxic form of diphtheria toxin safe for vaccination. [3] Connaught had been producing tetanus toxoid since 1927 and, though their product was effective, it also produced unwanted side effects. [2] Taylor lead a research team dedicated to streamlining and improving the production of the toxoid. [2] Taylor's cultures were grown through a broth consisting of veal infusion and hog stomach treated with calcium chloride and nicotinic acid. [4] The toxin cultures produced through Taylor's method were more potent than those produced using commercially available broths. [5] Taylor also contributed to the development of a stabilized version of the Schick toxin made using borate-gelatin-saline. [6] This stabilized toxin did not need to be diluted as heavily as the destabilized variant, allowing a more effective administration of the toxin during Schick diphtheria tests. [6]

Taylor collaborated with Leone Farrell and Robert J. Wilson to develop an improved large-scale pertussis vaccine production technique using a liquid medium. [7] Taylor and Farrell published a paper in the Canadian Journal of Public Health suggesting that constant agitation of the samples and the introduction of a small amount of formalin could promote continuous growth of the samples and reduce clumping, respectively. [8] Taylor also conducted a study examining the effectiveness of variants on the pertussis vaccine. [9] She compared a concentrated, a heated, and a control version of the vaccine using several tests. [9] She was not, however, able to find consistency among the results and reached no conclusion as to which vaccine was the most effective. [9]

Taylor applied in 1948 to patent a novel strategy for producing heparin, a form of anticoagulant. [10] The patent was granted to the University of Toronto in 1952. [10] Patents were also granted in both Canada and Germany. [10] The method involves mincing animal tissue, the lungs, intestines, and pancreases of sheep and cows, and mincing these samples with water to allow the proteins to coagulate over heat. [10] This coagulated sample is then digested using proteolytic enzyme to yield an extract from which pure heparin can be extracted. [10] This mechanism proved more effective than the old method of extracting heparin by applying the digestive enzyme to the sample before separating the proteins, increasing the yield of heparin in each sample. [10]

In 1949, Taylor developed an apparatus and technique for using formalin vapor in the sterilization of plastic syringes that would melt in a steam-based sterilization system. [11]

Taylor also contributed to Connaught Laboratories research on the polio vaccine. In 1957, she developed a variant of the Nash colorimetric method for determining an estimation of the formaldehyde content in Polio vaccines. [12]

Taylor was awarded the title of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1946 for her development of a mass-produced tetanus vaccine [2] to distribute to soldiers during World War 2. [13] After many more years of work at the through Connaught Laboratories at the University of Toronto, she retired in 1962. [2]

Related Research Articles

Tetanus Bacterial infection characterized by muscle spasms

Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually lasts a few minutes. Spasms occur frequently for three to four weeks. Some spasms may be severe enough to fracture bones. Other symptoms of tetanus may include fever, sweating, headache, trouble swallowing, high blood pressure, and a fast heart rate. Onset of symptoms is typically three to twenty-one days following infection. Recovery may take months. About ten percent of cases prove to be fatal.

Diphtheria Bacterial disease

Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and symptoms may vary from mild to severe and usually start two to five days after exposure. Symptoms often come on fairly gradually, beginning with a sore throat and fever. In severe cases, a grey or white patch develops in the throat. This can block the airway and create a barking cough as in croup. The neck may swell in part due to enlarged lymph nodes. A form of diphtheria which involves the skin, eyes or genitals also exists. Complications may include myocarditis, inflammation of nerves, kidney problems, and bleeding problems due to low levels of platelets. Myocarditis may result in an abnormal heart rate and inflammation of the nerves may result in paralysis.

Exotoxin

An exotoxin is a toxin secreted by bacteria. An exotoxin can cause damage to the host by destroying cells or disrupting normal cellular metabolism. They are highly potent and can cause major damage to the host. Exotoxins may be secreted, or, similar to endotoxins, may be released during lysis of the cell. Gram negative pathogens may secrete outer membrane vesicles containing lipopolysaccharide endotoxin and some virulence proteins in the bounding membrane along with some other toxins as intra-vesicular contents, thus adding a previously unforeseen dimension to the well-known eukaryote process of membrane vesicle trafficking, which is quite active at the host-pathogen interface.

DPT vaccine Class of combination vaccines

The DPT vaccine or DTP vaccine is a class of combination vaccines against three infectious diseases in humans: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. The vaccine components include diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and either killed whole cells of the bacterium that causes pertussis or pertussis antigens. The whole cells or antigens will be depicted as either "DTwP" or "DTaP", where the lower-case "w" indicates whole-cell inactivated pertussis and the lower-case "a" indicates pertussis antigens.

Instituto Butantan

Instituto Butantan is a Brazilian biologic research center located in Butantã, in the western part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Instituto Butantan is a public institution affiliated with the São Paulo State Secretariat of Health and considered one of the major scientific centers in the world. Butantan is the largest immunobiologicals and biopharmaceuticals producer in Latin America. It is world-renowned for its collection of venomous snakes, as well as those of venomous lizards, spiders, insects and scorpions. By extracting the reptiles' and insects' venoms, the Institute develops antivenoms and medicines against many diseases, which include tuberculosis, rabies, tetanus and diphtheria.

Toxoid

A toxoid is an inactivated toxin whose toxicity has been suppressed either by chemical (formalin) or heat treatment, while other properties, typically immunogenicity, are maintained. Toxins are secreted by bacteria, whereas toxoids are altered form of toxins; toxoids are not secreted by bacteria. Thus, when used during vaccination, an immune response is mounted and immunological memory is formed against the molecular markers of the toxoid without resulting in toxin-induced illness. Such a preparation is also known as an anatoxin. There are toxoids for prevention of diphtheria, tetanus and botulism.

<i>Bordetella pertussis</i> Species of bacterium causing pertussis or whooping cough

Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative, aerobic, pathogenic, encapsulated coccobacillus of the genus Bordetella, and the causative agent of pertussis or whooping cough. Like B. bronchiseptica, B. pertussis is motile and expresses a flagellum-like structure. Its virulence factors include pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin, filamentous hæmagglutinin, pertactin, fimbria, and tracheal cytotoxin.

Hib vaccine Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine

The Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine, also known as Hib vaccine, is a vaccine used to prevent Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infection. In countries that include it as a routine vaccine, rates of severe Hib infections have decreased more than 90%. It has therefore resulted in a decrease in the rate of meningitis, pneumonia, and epiglottitis.

<i>Clostridium tetani</i> Common soil bacterium and the causative agent of tetanus

Clostridium tetani is a common soil bacterium and the causative agent of tetanus. Vegetative cells of C. tetani are usually rod-shaped and up to 2.5 μm long, but they become enlarged and tennis racket- or drumstick-shaped when forming spores. C. tetani spores are extremely hardy and can be found globally in soil or in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. If inoculated into a wound, C. tetani can grow and produce a potent toxin, tetanospasmin, which interferes with motor neurons, causing tetanus. The toxin's action can be prevented with tetanus toxoid vaccines, which are often administered to children worldwide.

Diphtheria vaccine

Diphtheria vaccine is a toxoid vaccine against diphtheria, an illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Its use has resulted in a more than 90% decrease in number of cases globally between 1980 and 2000. The first dose is recommended at six weeks of age with two additional doses four weeks apart, after which it is about 95% effective during childhood. Three further doses are recommended during childhood. It is unclear if further doses later in life are needed.

Pertussis vaccine Vaccine protecting against whooping cough

Pertussis vaccine is a vaccine that protects against whooping cough (pertussis). There are two main types: whole-cell vaccines and acellular vaccines. The whole-cell vaccine is about 78% effective while the acellular vaccine is 71–85% effective. The effectiveness of the vaccines appears to decrease by between 2 and 10% per year after vaccination with a more rapid decrease with the acellular vaccines. The vaccine is only available in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. Pertussis vaccine is estimated to have saved over 500,000 lives in 2002.

Tetanus vaccine

Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid (TT), is a toxoid vaccine used to prevent tetanus. During childhood, five doses are recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence.

Pearl Kendrick American bacteriologist

Pearl Louella Kendrick was an American bacteriologist known for co-developing the first successful whooping cough vaccine alongside fellow Michigan Department of Public Health scientist Grace Eldering and chemist Loney Gordon in the 1930s. In the decades after the initial pertussis vaccine rollout, Kendrick contributed to the promotion of international vaccine standards in Latin America and the Soviet Union. Kendrick and her colleagues also developed a 3-in-1 shot for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus called the DTP vaccine which was initially released in 1948.

Dalla Lana School of Public Health School of public health at the University of Toronto

Dalla Lana School of Public Health is the school of public health at the University of Toronto. It was founded in 1927, and was home for 50 years to Connaught Laboratories, a manufacturer of vaccines, insulin, and many other pharmaceutical products. Having grown to be the largest cluster of public health scholars in Canada, the school was revitalized in 2008 with the support of a major gift from the Dalla Lana family.

DTaP-IPV/Hib vaccine is a 5-in-1 combination vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

Hexavalent vaccine

A hexavalent vaccine, or 6-in-1 vaccine, is a combination vaccine with six individual vaccines conjugated into one, intended to protect people from multiple diseases. The term usually refers to the children's vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, haemophilus B, and hepatitis B, which is used in more than 90 countries around the world including in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

DTP-HepB vaccine is a combination vaccine whose generic name is diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole-cell pertussis and hepatitis B (recombinant) vaccine (adsorbed) or DTP-Hep B. It protects against the infectious diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and hepatitis B.

Leone Norwood Farrell (1904–1986) was a Canadian biochemist and microbiologist who identified microbial strains of industrial importance and developed innovative techniques for the manufacture of vaccines and antibiotics. Her inventions enabled the mass production of the polio vaccine.

Connaught Laboratories Non-commercial public health entity

The Connaught Medical Research Laboratories was a non-commercial public health entity established by Dr. John G. FitzGerald in 1914 in Toronto to produce the diphtheria antitoxin. Contemporaneously, the institution was likened to the Pasteur Institutes in France and Belgium and the Lister Institute in London. It expanded significantly after the discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921, manufacturing and distributing insulin at cost in Canada and overseas. Its non-commercial mandate mediated commercial interests and kept the medication accessible. In the 1930s, methodological advances at Connaught updated the international standard for insulin production.

Olga Povitzky American physician

Olga Raissa Povitzky, also seen as Olga Povitsky, was a Russian-born American physician and bacteriologist with the New York Health Department; she also worked at a field hospital in France during World War I.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Profiles". www.museumofhealthcare.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Connaught Labs, World War II & Biotech Innovation". Connaught Fund. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  3. ↑ "A Relentless Pace: Connaught Labs, Insulin Innovation, School Building and Defeating Diphtheria, 1923–29". Connaught Fund. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  4. ↑ Fraser, D. T.; MacLean, D. L.; Plummer, H. C.; Wishart, F. O. (September 1943). "Tetanus Toxoid and Its Use for Active Immunization". American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health. 33 (9): 1107–1114. doi:10.2105/ajph.33.9.1107. ISSN   0002-9572. PMC   1527609 . PMID   18015883.
  5. ↑ Moloney, Mary V. (2016-10-31). Behind Insulin: The Life and Legacy of Doctor Peter Joseph Moloney. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN   978-1-4834-5846-5.
  6. 1 2 Moloney, P. J.; Taylor, Edith M. (January 1932). "The Preparation of Stabilized Schick Toxin". American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health. 22 (1): 38–43. doi:10.2105/ajph.22.1.38. ISSN   0002-9572. PMC   1556700 . PMID   18013426.
  7. ↑ "Connaught Labs, Persistent Pertussis & Bacterial Vaccines Improvement". Connaught Fund. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  8. ↑ FARRELL, LEONE; TAYLOR, EDITH M. (1945). "Notes on the Production of Phase I Pertussis Vaccine in Fluid Medium". Canadian Journal of Public Health. 36 (8): 326–327. ISSN   0008-4263. JSTOR   41978837.
  9. 1 2 3 Taylor, E. M.; Moloney, P. J.; Reid, D. B. W. (1956-04-01). "Comparison of methods for assessing the antigenic response to pertussis vaccine". Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 2 (2): 94–101. doi:10.1139/m56-014. ISSN   0008-4166. PMID   13316603.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 US 2587924,Taylor, Edith M.&Moloney, Peter J.,"Methods of producing heparin",published 1952-03-04, assigned to University of Toronto
  11. ↑ Taylor, E. M.; Moloney, P. J. (December 1949). "Sterilization of plastic syringes by formalin vapour". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 61 (6): 621–622. ISSN   0008-4409. PMC   1591722 . PMID   15393058.
  12. ↑ Taylor, E. M.; Moloney, P. J. (1957-05-01). "Estimation of Formaldehyde in Poliomyelitis Vaccines**Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, University of Toronto, Canada". Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (Scientific Ed.). 46 (5): 299–301. doi:10.1002/jps.3030460510. ISSN   0095-9553. PMID   13502184.
  13. ↑ "British Orders to Canadians". www.blatherwick.net. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
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