Subj : Hep C: Mystery of how deadly virus hides To : All From : ScienceDaily Date : Wed Jul 05 2023 22:30:22 Hep C: Mystery of how deadly virus hides in humans is solved Date: July 5, 2023 Source: University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science Summary: With a new method for examining virus samples researchers have solved an old riddle about how Hepatitis C virus avoids the human body's immune defenses. The result may have an impact on how we track and treat viral diseases in general. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email ========================================================================== FULL STORY ========================================================================== With a new method for examining virus samples researchers from the University of Copenhagen have solved an old riddle about how Hepatitis C virus avoids the human body's immune defenses. The result may have an impact on how we track and treat viral diseases in general. An estimated 50 million people worldwide are infected with with chronic hepatitis C. The hepatitis C virus can cause inflammation and scarring of the liver, and in the worst case, liver cancer. Hepatitis C was discovered in 1989 and is one of the most studied viruses on the planet. Yet for decades, how it manages to evade the human immune system and spread through the body has been a riddle -- one that Danish researchers have become the first to solve. A new method for examining virus samples has led researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Hvidovre Hospital to the answer, which is: the virus just puts on a 'mask'. By donning a mask, the virus can remain hidden while making copies of itself to infect new cells. The mask cloaks the virus in the form of a molecule already in our cells. Disguised by the molecule, our immune systems confuse the virus with something harmless that needn't be reacted to. "How the Hepatitis C virus manages to hide in our liver cells without being detected by the immune system has always been a bit of a mystery. Our revelation of the virus' masking strategy is important, as it could pave the way for new ways of treating viral infections. And it is likely that other types of viruses use the same trick," says Associate Professor Jeppe Vinther of the Department of Biology, who together with associate professor Troels Scheel and professor Jens Bukh from Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program headed the research. Camouflage for a malicious virus The mask used by the hepatitis virus to hide in our cells is called FAD, a molecule composed of Vitamin B2 and the energy carrying molecule ATP. FAD is vital for our cells to convert energy. The FAD molecule's importance and familiarity to our cells makes it ideal camouflage for a malicious virus. For several years, the research team had a good idea that FAD was helping the virus hide in infected cells, but they lacked a clear way to prove it. To solve the challenge, they turned to Arabidopsis, a well-known experimental plant among researchers. "We were getting desperate to find a way to prove our hypothesis, which is when we purified an enzyme from the Arabidopsis plant that can split the FAD molecule in two," explains Anna Sherwood from Department of Biology, who together with Lizandro Rene Rivera Rangel are first authors of the study. Using the enzyme, the researchers were able to split the FAD and prove that the hepatitis C virus used it as a mask. Other viruses probably use the same trick Like both the coronavirus and influenza virus, Hepatitis C is an RNA virus. Its genetic material consists of RNA that must be copied once the virus enters its host organism. New RNA copies are used to take over new cells, and one end of the RNA's genetic material is masked by the FAD. According to Jeppe Vinther, it is very realistic that other RNA viruses use similar masking techniques to spread without being detected by cellular control systems. In fact, researchers have already found another virus that uses the same strategy. And there are likely more. "All RNA viruses have the same need to hide from the immune system and there is a good chance that this is just the beginning. Now that we're attuned to this trick, it opens up the possibility of developing new and perhaps improved methods of tracking and treating viral infections in the future," concludes Jeppe Vinther. The research is funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark, as well as several other Danish and European foundations and conducted in a collaboration between Jeppe Vinther's research group at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, and Troels Scheel and Jens Bukh's research groups from the Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program, which are located at UCPH's Department of Immunology and Microbiology and the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hvidovre Hospital. * RELATED_TOPICS o Health_&_Medicine # Viruses # Liver_Disease # Infectious_Diseases # HIV_and_AIDS o Plants_&_Animals # Virology # Microbes_and_More # Biology # Microbiology * RELATED_TERMS o Hepatitis_E o HIV o Chickenpox o Natural_killer_cell o Epstein-Barr_virus o Pandemic o Rubella o Chemotherapy ========================================================================== Print Email Share ========================================================================== ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 **** *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour ========================================================================== * Why_Birds_Ancestors_Lived;_Other_Dinosaurs_Died * Dissolving_Cardiac_Device_Treats_Heart_Disease * Webb_Locates_Dust_Reservoirs_in_Two_Supernovae * Earth_Formed_from_Dry,_Rocky_Building_Blocks * Ancient_Volcanic_Activity_On_Moon's_Dark_Side * Highly_Conductive_Metallic_Gel_for_3D_Printing * Potent_Greenhouse_Gas_Could_Be_Abated_Today * Polymer_Brains_for_Artificial_Neural_Networks * Early_Apex_Predator_Sought_Soft_Over_... * Time_in_Universe_Once_Flowed_Five_Times_Slower Trending Topics this week ========================================================================== HEALTH_&_MEDICINE Fitness Genes Cholesterol MIND_&_BRAIN Child_Psychology Creativity Educational_Psychology LIVING_&_WELL Fitness Healthy_Aging Staying_Healthy ========================================================================== Strange & Offbeat ========================================================================== HEALTH_&_MEDICINE Grocery_Store_Carts_Set_to_Help_Diagnose_Common_Heart_Rhythm_Disorder_and Prevent_Stroke DNA_Can_Fold_Into_Complex_Shapes_to_Execute_New_Functions Everyone's_Brain_Has_a_Pain_Fingerprint_--_New_Research_Has_Revealed_for_the First_Time MIND_&_BRAIN AI_Tests_Into_Top_1%_for_Original_Creative_Thinking Scientists_Discover_Spiral-Shaped_Signals_That_Organize_Brain_Activity Illusions_Are_in_the_Eye,_Not_the_Mind LIVING_&_WELL AI_Tests_Into_Top_1%_for_Original_Creative_Thinking Amputees_Feel_Warmth_in_Their_Missing_Hand Why_Do_Champagne_Bubbles_Rise_the_Way_They_Do?_Scientists'_New_Discovery_Is Worthy_of_a_Toast Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Copenhagen_-_Faculty_of_Science. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. ========================================================================== Journal Reference: 1. Sherwood, A.V., Rivera-Rangel, L.R., Ryberg, L.A. et al. Hepatitis C virus RNA is 5'-capped with flavin adenine dinucleotide. Nature, 2023 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06301-3 ========================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230705115127.htm --- up 1 year, 18 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3) .