viral infections Tag

27 Mar Exploiting Pathway in Host Cells May Combat Emerging Viral Infections

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_22813" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Cameron Stewart[/caption] Dr. Cameron Stewart PhD Team Leader within the Emerging Infectious Diseases Program CSIRO Biosecurity Flagship Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Stewart: Hendra and Nipah viruses (referred to jointly as henipaviruses) are deadly cousins of the more common mumps, measles, and respiratory syncytial viruses, all members of the paramyxovirus family. Henipavirus outbreaks are on the rise, but little is known about the viruses, partly because research has to be undertaken under extreme containment conditions.  Our team performs research at the largest high containment facility in the Asia-Pacific region, the CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Australia. To understand the henipavirus infection cycle and to identify targets for new antiviral therapies, we performed a genome-wide screen to identify the host molecules required by henipaviruses for infection. The host gene with the largest impact, called fibrillarin, codes for a protein present in the nucleolus. Inhibiting fibrillarin impaired henipavirus infection greater than 1,000-fold in human cells.  We examined closely which step of the viral life cycle was blocked by interfering with fibrillarin function, and found it was required for the early synthesis of viral RNA. Results from our study suggest that fibrillarin could be targeted therapeutically to combat henipavirus infections. This research was undertaken by an international team of researchers from CSIRO, the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics, Duke-NUS, the University of Georgia and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.