Pro-inflammatory proteins can play an important role in reducing the spread of the herpes virus.
The genital herpes virus is almost impossible to eradicate. This sexually transmitted, viral and highly contagious infection affects approximately 20% of the sexually active population in France, according to the figures of the health insurance. While certain mechanisms of the spread of the herpes virus remain unknown, researchers at the University of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona (United States) have discovered new treatments to slow down its spread, thanks to the antiviral properties of proteins inflammatory. The results of their study were published in the October issue of Journal of Immunology.
The team looked for a correlation between the herpes virus and how the pro-inflammatory protein may play an important role in improving current and future treatments. She discovered that the IL-36y protein is an essential component of the immune response to herpes infection. During their research, they also wanted to know if other mechanisms could compensate for the lack of IL-36y.
The inflammatory protein that defends our body
According to the researcher, it has long been established that cytokine proteins are essential to the immune system, since they coordinate the response to pathogens and enable intercellular communication. Identified 20 years ago as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-36y is already known for its important role in chronic inflammatory diseases, but this study discovered its action in infectious diseases such as herpes.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, lead author and associate professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Phoenix, says the research group was the first to detect IL-36y in the female reproductive tract, and expanded this work to assess the extent to which this molecule can protect or contribute to genital infections.
For Jameson Gardner, a graduate research student in Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz’s lab, scientists have been working for decades to develop a vaccine that can protect against genital herpes, without success. However, these efforts have shed important insights into the immune response in the female reproductive tract.
Protein prevents herpes from ascending to the nervous system
The researchers found that in people with IL-36y, the intact genes were better protected against intravaginal infection by the genital herpes virus than those without. Once installed, the herpes virus spreads throughout the nervous system and goes up to the brain. With this study, the researchers found that IL-36y appears to work in a previously uncharacterized way to protect against viral neuroinvasion (an infection that affects the nervous system). The presence of this protein would limit the spread of the genital herpes virus to the nervous system, according to Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz.
Although the precise mechanism by which IL-36y protects against neurological invasion has yet to be discovered, these findings pave the way for future research in this area. Through this research, scientists were also able to confirm that IL-36y played a crucial role in recruiting neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that protects against invading pathogens.
Jameson Gardner says improving our understanding of IL-36y functions can help develop new treatments to protect against sexually transmitted infections and thus hopefully reduce the spread of these infections in the human body. world.
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