Front Microbiol: key proteins contribute to the development of West Nile virus / Zika virus therapy

November 9, 2019 / biourn / - recently, biologists at Georgia State University identified a protein that is essential to control the replication of West Nile virus and Zika virus, and may help develop therapies to prevent and treat these viruses Specifically, the researchers found that a protein called "Z-DNA binding protein 1 (zbp1)" is the cell's "sensor", which mediates the activation of immune signals when it detects viral infection in cells It was found that the absence of zbp1 in mice infected with non pathogenic West Nile virus resulted in 100% mortality The results were published in the journal frontiers in microbiology The discovery of zbp1 is very important to inhibit the replication of West Nile virus and Zika virus, and to prevent the occurrence of related encephalitis (image source: www Pixabay Com) Mukesh Kumar, an assistant professor of biology and senior author of the study, said: "we found that when cells are infected with Zika virus or West Nile virus, they can trigger cell necrosis (a programmed cell death) response through zbp1 signal, thus inhibiting virus replication and spread, and promoting the immune system to clear the virus." Kumar said the findings may provide a new therapeutic strategy for the viruses, given that they can infect the central nervous system by regulating the expression of zbp1 Follow up studies by Kumar's team will explore the effect of targeting similar viruses According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito borne diseases and viral encephalitis in the United States So far, more than 50000 people have been infected, including 480 cases reported in Georgia Zika virus (Zika) is transmitted by a mosquito called Aedes mosquito, and can cause serious nervous system diseases, such as Guillain Barre syndrome, which causes the human immune system to attack the nervous system In addition, infection with the virus may lead to birth defects, such as microcephaly In the cases of West Nile virus infection reported in the United States, nearly 50% of patients have virus invasion into the nervous system, leading to life-threatening consequences Once the virus reaches the brain, drug therapy usually fails, but Kumar hopes to clear the virus from the brain by increasing the expression of zbp1 in the central nervous system Critical protein that could unlock West Nile / Zika virus treatments identified original source: hussin a rothan, komal Arora, janhavi P natekar, Philip g strate, Margo A Brinton, Mukesh Kumar Z-DNA-Binding Protein 1 Is Critical for Controlling Virus Replication and Survival in West Nile Virus Encephalitis Frontiers in Microbiology , 2019; 10 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02089