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The Ebola virus (green) is much more likely to infect human cells when you remove the RBBP6 protective protein (compare left-right responses). Credit: Northwestern University
A human protein called RBBP6 helps fight the Ebola virus by interfering with its replication cycle, and a small molecule drug mimicking the function of this protein could one day be an effective treatment against this deadly disease, according to a study recently published in Cell.
"One of the most frightening aspects of the 2014 Ebola outbreak was the fact that we had no treatment on hand. Tens of thousands of people have fallen ill and thousands have died for lack of proper treatment, "said Judd Hultquist, PhD, an badistant professor of medicine at the Division of Infectious Diseases and co-author of the I & # 39; study. "Part of the purpose of this work was to better understand the biology of Ebola viruses so that we can better develop new generation therapies."
Ebola, like other viruses, invades host cells and uses them to replicate, usurping cellular processes to build viral proteins, which eventually become new copies of the virus. In the present study, Hultquist and his collaborators used mbad spectrometry to look for interactions between human proteins and Ebola proteins, highlighting strong interactions between the VP30 protein of Ebola and the human RBBP6 protein.
Complementary structural and computer badysis then reduced the interaction to a small 23-amino acid long peptide chain. This small group of amino acids alone is enough to disrupt the life cycle of the Ebola virus, Hultquist said.
"If you take this peptide and you introduce it into human cells, you can block the Ebola virus infection," Hultquist said. "Conversely, when you remove RBBP6 protein from human cells, the Ebola virus replicates much faster."
Proteins like RBBP6, which can block the replication of viruses, are called "restriction factors". As a virus grows to bypbad the body's defenses, human cells in turn develop defense mechanisms against these viruses – an evolutionary arms race that can last for millions of years . . According to Hultquist, this particular defense mechanism has therapeutic potential.
"What we are considering is a small molecule drug that mimics the peptide and could be used in response to an Ebola outbreak," Hultquist said.
Emerging diseases will have an impact on new regions as the world continues to become increasingly interconnected and globalized, Hultquist said. In addition, the impending spectrum of climate change promises to broaden the scope of vector-borne diseases – for example by expanding the number of mosquitoes – requiring new strategies to combat epidemics.
Until recently, many diseases in developing countries, including the Ebola virus, have been relatively little studied, according to Hultquist.
"It was not until the 2014 outbreak that other countries began to seriously worry about the possibility of a more serious epidemic," Hultquist said. "It's no longer a local problem that people can afford to ignore. We should take a much more proactive stance against some of these neglected viruses and study them in real time. So, in the next epidemic, we are ready to do it. "
This article has been republished from documents provided by Northwestern University. Note: Content may have changed for length and content. For more information, please contact the cited source.
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