[ad_1]
A new study from Tel Aviv University has identified genes that protect cells against viral Zika infection.
The research, led by Dr. Ella H. Sklan of the UAA, TAU School of Medicine, was published in the Virology Journal and is a step towards the development of a treatment for Zika and other viral infections.
The Zika virus has affected more than 60 million people, mostly in South America. This can have devastating consequences for pregnant women and their unborn children. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus.
The Israeli study used CRISPR activation, a modification of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique that allows the expression of specific genes in their original DNA locations.
"The CRISPR activation can be used to identify genes protecting against viral infection," Sklan said. "We used this adapted system to activate each genome gene in cells in culture. We then infected the cells with Zika virus. While most cells die after infection, some have survived due to overexpression of some protective genes. "
Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic badysis helped Sklan's laboratory identify the genes that allowed survival, particularly one called IFI6, already known for its role in other viruses.
"IFI6 has shown high levels of protection against the Zika virus, both by protecting cells from infection and preventing cell death," Sklan said.
With Dr. Nabila Jabrane-Ferrat of the French National Center for Scientific Research, Sklan transferred the study of identified genes into Zika infected human placental tissue after infection, and the reaction indicated that they could also play a protective role in this fabric.
Understanding the protection mechanism of Zika by IF16 is the next goal of the potential development of a new antiviral therapy to fight the Zika virus or badociated infections, Sklan said.
Dr. Anna Dukhovny of the Sackler School of Medicine at the TAU led the research and bioinformatic badysis was conducted by Kevin Lamkiewicz of Friedrich Schiller University. Part of the study was conducted during Dr. Sklan's sabbatical in Professor Jae Jung's laboratory at the University of Southern California.
[ad_2]
Source link
