Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Researchers Identify New Approach to Fight Viral Illnesses | |
|
| |
A novel approach to the development of universal treatments for viral illnesses such as common cold, meningitis, encephalitis has been devised by UC Irvine microbiologists.
The UCI researchers, working with Dutch colleagues, found that certain RNA viruses hijack a key DNA repair activity of human cells to produce the genetic material necessary for them to multiply.
For many years, scientists have known that viruses rely on functions provided by their host cells to increase their numbers, but the UCI study - led by microbiology and molecular genetics professor Bert Semler - is the first to identify how the RNA-containing picornaviruses utilize a DNA repair enzyme to do so.
RNA viruses have ribonucleic acid as their genetic material (rather than deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA viruses include SARS, influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile fever, the common cold and poliomyelitis.
The UCI and Dutch researchers examined one group of RNA viruses, called picornaviruses, using biochemical purification methods and confocal microscopy to see how they co-opt the functions of a cellular DNA repair enzyme called TDP2 to advance their replication process.
"These findings are significant because all known picornaviruses harbor the target for this DNA repair enzyme, despite the fact that their genetic material is made up of RNA rather than DNA. Thus, identifying drugs or small molecules that interfere with the interaction between the virus and TDP2 could result in a broad-spectrum treatment for picornaviruses," said Semler, who also directs UCI's Center for Virus Research.
By targeting a host cell function required for viral replication and not the virus itself, he added, the primary challenge of antiviral drug resistance may be sidestepped.
As part of their survival mechanism, RNA viruses mutate often, and drugs intended for them usually become ineffective over time. HIV, for example, rapidly mutates, necessitating a combination therapy employing a number of antiviral agents.
A drug that blocks RNA viruses from hijacking DNA repair enzymes may avoid these resistance issues. Semler's lab plans to screen mixtures of drug candidates to find ones that inhibit this process in cells infected by the human rhinovirus, the predominant cause of the common cold.
The results appeared in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.
Source-ANI
| |
|
|
 Comment & Contribute
|
Related Links
Meningitis - Causes - Symptoms - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Meningitis is the infection and inflammation of the meninges. Meninges are membranes around the brain and spinal cord, and sometimes the ...
HBV Screening
Tests used for screening hepatitis B are estimation of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBc and anti-HBs ...
Researchers Discover Compound That can Fight Different Types of Viral Diseases
A compound that inhibits the replication of different viruses has been identified by researchers. The compound prevents the ...
Research Related News
Protect Society from Infectious Microbes
The bugs are outrunning us in the race to protect society from infectious microbes. The need for new therapeutic agents is acute, given the emergence ...
Being Gay Doesn't Affect Acting Performance
Researchers have claimed that being a gay actor significantly affects ratings of his masculinity, but it has no significant effect on ratings of his ...
Stanford Researchers Find Frogs in California Harbor Deadly Amphibian Pathogen
The first evidence that African clawed frogs in California harbor a deadly fungal infection that is decimating amphibian populations across the globe ...
Researchers Are 'Fishing' for Memories
We constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions in our interactions with the environment. But how ...
In Gout Patients, Vitamin C Does Not Lower Uric Acid Levels
New research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in ...
For Effective Speed Control, Cells Must Accelerate Their Brakes Moderately
When new intelligent medicines are being developed, how cells regulate their own function by "accelerating and braking" is important basic knowledge, ...
- Health News Index
|
|
- News Quick Links
| News Categories: |
| » | Georgian Orthodox Supporters Disrupt Georgia Gay Rights Rally |
| » | Protests Against Berlin's Barbie Dreamhouse |
| » | For Most Women Duchess Kate Is 'Style Icon' |
| » | Fruits and Veggies Could Be Kept Fresh for Longer Period With The Help of New Technology |
| » | Artists Complain That Ban on Wild Animals Brings Down Circus Industry |
| More Life Style News | |
|
Ask an Expert
