The way the herpes virus, HSV1, manages to infiltrate the nervous system has been discovered, paving the way for the development of a vaccine.
- The researchers managed to decipher in detail the mechanism used by the herpes virus to move through the body.
- They identified kinesin, a motor protein, as the key component used by HSV1 to enter the central nervous system.
The herpes virus, HSV1, can attack hosts very differently. Some patients will never experience more than a cold sore while others will experience blindness or life-threatening encephalitis. American researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago have managed to identify the strategy of the virus to infect the nervous system. Published on November 17 in the journal Naturethese results pave the way for the development of vaccines.
Herpes, a sneaky virus
Researchers have noticed that herpes manages to “kidnap” a protein from epithelial cells – the cells that line the walls of organs – to transform it into a defector in order to travel to the peripheral nervous system. They called this the process of assimilation. “It’s a finding that may have far-reaching implications for many viruses, including HIV and SARS-CoV-2.”, rejoiced Greg Smith, professor of microbiology and immunology and principal author of the study.
The virus would inject its genetic code into the nucleus of cells so that it could start producing more herpes virus, the study authors speculate. “It reprograms the cell to become a virus factory. But the big question is how does it get to the nucleus of a neuron?”, asks Greg Smith. Like many viruses, herpes clings to microtubules – which play a central role in cell division in particular – and uses protein motors, called dynein and kinesin, to move around. The researchers found that herpes uses a kinesin motor that it brings from other cells to transport it to the neuron’s nucleus.
Find a way to thwart herpes
“By learning how the virus achieves this incredible feat to enter our nervous system, we can now think about how to suppress this ability.says Greg Smith. If you could stop it from assimilating kinesin, you’d have a virus that couldn’t infect the nervous system..” The researchers believe that the discovery of this infectious action may lead to thinking about the development of a vaccine to prevent the herpes virus from traveling to the nervous system.
“This is the first discovery of a virus reusing a cellular protein and using it to cause subsequent cycles of infectionconcludes Caitlin Pegg, who participated in the study. We are excited to uncover more of the molecular mechanisms of evolution of these viruses that arguably make them the most effective pathogens known to science..”
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