Cornell scientists discover critical step in flu virus infection
Two Cornell University researchers have found a pathway that is critical for the flu virus to enter and infect a cell. The discovery could lead to the development of antiviral medications and vaccines that would target all influenza viruses. The newly discovered pathway occurs after the virus attaches to a cell. The next stage of infection, the Cornell researchers say, involves an unknown co-receptor that allows the virus to infect the cell.
"Now that we know there's a second step involved in influenza infection -- that a co-receptor is crucial for the virus to enter a cell -- we can go after it," says Gary R. Whittaker, assistant professor of virology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell, "Once we identify the receptor, we expect that a whole new avenue of antiviral medications and vaccines could be developed that would target all influenza viruses, not just one strain at a time."
Whittaker and Victor C. Chu, a graduate student in comparative biomedical sciences, have published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Dec. 28, 2004; Vol. 101, 52, 10153-18158). It is an open-access article, freely available online.
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