Chapter 265: Sirolimus
Chapter 265: Sirolimus
Over in Namibia, various orders for laser components required by Chen Chen had already been sent out but it would take a long time to receive the said orders for now. After all, Chen Chen needed high-precision laser lenses and other such components.
Each of these components was extremely valuable, so their production time was naturally extremely lengthy.
Chen Chen assigned bodyguards to accompany his parents in their travels around Namibia and he once again went to the Spire Experimental Base.
In the month that Chen Chen was absent, Little X had performed an injection experiment with the modified T-virus.
However, unfortunately, in that experiment, Chen Chen’s clone could not withstand this modified T-virus at all and directly became a zombie.
Presently, Chen Chen was looking into the isolated room. A fully rotting, aimlessly wandering zombie that looked almost identical to Chen Chen was in there. Chen Chen felt like crying and laughing at the same time.
“Sir Godfather, after this zombie was fused with the T-virus, we’ve checked his DNA and found three errors in total.”
Little X’s voice rang out, “Now that these three errors have been corrected and these corrections have been implemented in a virus numbered T-002, should I conduct a second experiment?”
“Go ahead.”
Chen Chen nodded. T-002 was the name Little X gave to this modified version of T-virus. The original full name of the T-virus was Tyrant-Virus. Chen Chen’s first genetically modified version of the T-virus was thus named T-001 accordingly.
T-001 was later reported to have failed. After improvement, it became the current T-002.
Just then, Chen Chen suddenly asked again, “By the way, how many of my clones are left?”
“Do you mean the clones that haven’t been injected with T-virus?”
Little X said, “Back then, you made a total of five cloned fertilized eggs that were fused with T-virus and five cloned fertilized eggs that were not. Now, there are four clones left that have been fused with T-virus and three normal clones that haven’t been injected with T-virus.”
“Three?”
Chen Chen pondered. “Make ten more normal clones. After all, the incubation of normal clones takes half a year. Incubating them in advance will prevent a future shortage of clones.”
“Understood.”
After Little X agreed, several Black Knight assistants immediately stepped forward, opened a life incubator, and took out a clone of Chen Chen.
After strapping this clone to a stretcher and connecting various life-sustaining equipment, a Black Knight took out the modified T-virus that had already been prepared and injected it directly into the clone.
“The clone’s blood pressure is normal...”
“Heartbeat is normal...”
“The brain waves are in a normal sleeping state — delta waves. The frequency is 1-3Hz, the amplitude is about 20-200μV...”
Little X kept reporting the readings of the clone’s body. Chen Chen was also watching silently from the side with his arms crossed.
However, over time, the physiological characteristics of the clones began to change.
“The body temperature of the clone is rising sharply and its immune system is starting to function. It’s competing with the T-virus for control of the body!”
“The blood pressure of the clone is rising rapidly. The current systolic blood pressure is 180mmHg and the diastolic blood pressure is 140mmHg!”
“The heart rate has accelerated to 120 beats per minute and it’s still rising!”
Two or three hours passed in this manner.
“Oh no, the clone’s heartbeat has stopped. His immune system has collapsed and he’s transforming into a zombie!”
The second experiment had still failed.
As Chen Chen observed all this silently, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “By the way, have you tried using immunosuppressive agents on the clones?”
“Immunosuppressive agents?” Little X asked in surprise.
“That’s right.”
Chen Chen nodded. “I’ve been thinking about why our customized T-virus cannot be fused with the experimental subject. Apart from genetic problems, is there a certain hindrance from the immune system?
“It’s like when there’s a newly implanted human organ. Various immunosuppressants are needed to reduce the possibility of rejection and increase the survival rate of the implanted organ. And if there’s no assistance from immunosuppressants, the newly implanted organ would be rejected because of the immune system’s attack.”
Chen Chen continued to explain, “The same goes for this T-virus. After all, this virus is customized based on my genes. It stands to reason that there shouldn’t be such a violent response. Then is it possible that it’s because the immune system is resisting too intensely?
“If an immunosuppressive agent is used, could we reduce the intensity of the conflict between the immune system and the T-virus in the body, so that the body could last longer?”
“We can try that.”
Little X replied, “So do you want to start the third experiment right now?”
“Let’s do that. As for the choice of immunosuppressive agents...”
Chen Chen thought for a while. “Let’s try sirolimus first and use it in conjunction with cyclosporin A and FK506.”
“Got it!”
Sirolimus was a compound that was first isolated from a bacteria unique to Easter Island. With the emergence of antibiotics at that time, a collective search for new antibiotics had just begun in human society.
At that point, the act of searching for various bacterial drugs was called a “scientific expedition”. There were many scientific expedition teams all over the world, who aimed to collect mud from all over the world, then separate microorganisms and microbial secondary metabolites to find new antibiotics.
In 1964, one such scientific expedition team came to Easter Island.
After this group of scientific research personnel arrived on the island, they quickly discovered that the residents on the island were barefoot and reared many horses.
Since they were barefoot, they would sustain frequent injuries to the soles of their feet. Moreover, horse dung contained a lot of bacteria and viruses, and raising horses would greatly increase one’s chances of contracting tetanus. However, after investigation, this scientific research team found that the residents of Easter Island did not have any infections.
Could it be that there was a new type of antibiotic on this island?
Therefore, the scientific expedition team began to dig up mud and collect soil samples.
Even so, when this group of people walked past the stone statues on Easter Island, they found that there was a piece of ground at the foot of the statues that was in shadow all year round. One of them collected a handful of the soil. After inspection upon his return, he found that the soil had antibacterial effects.
Thus sirolimus was discovered.
Subsequently, sirolimus went through several crises. First, as an antibiotic, it was found to have the side effects of suppressing immunity. After that, it was noticed by surgeons and finally, its true role was realized — a superior immunosuppressive agent with fewer side effects.
However, since 2006, many scientists had once again discovered that sirolimus had the ability to extend human lifespan. A large number of laboratories had conducted related studies and discovered that everything from nematodes to worms, to fruit flies and even mammalian mice, would live longer with sirolimus!
The most notable of these was the research on mice. Experiments had found that for white mice that were close to death, taking sirolimus had the effect of forcibly extending their lifespan, which almost no drug could accomplish.
The specific function of sirolimus was that it could slow down the hardening of tendons and the degeneration of liver function, two factors that were precisely the two major signs of aging.
Scientists had also discovered that the restriction of calorie intake could delay cell aging to a certain extent. A series of human bodily reactions would switch the body to a state akin to a “low-speed gear”, allowing more energy to be conserved for long-term survival. Sirolimus could perform a similar role...