Scientists
have discovered a new pathway the dengue virus takes to suppress the human
immune system. This new knowledge deepens our understanding of the virus and
could contribute to the development of more effective therapeutics.
Researchers
from the Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) at Duke-NUS Graduate
Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) have discovered a new way that dengue
virus-2 (DENV-2) uses to evade the human defense system. Typically, when a
virus enters the body and infects cells, it induces the production and release
of interferons (IFNs), which are proteins that raise the bodies' anti-viral
defense mechanisms.
The
dengue virus enters the cell and produces large quantities of a non-coding,
highly-structured viral RNA termed sfRNA, which is part of the genetic material
of the dengue virus.
Posted by Tim Sandle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources