Crucial insight into how Ebola virus evades our immune defenses - Californianewstimes.com

Scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus budding from cells (African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line). Credit: NIAID

Researchers at Monash University in Australia have discovered an important way for the Ebola virus, one of the world's most deadly pathogens, to evade the immune system.

Understanding this process has resulted in more than 11,000 deaths in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with mortality rates of 25% to 90% in past outbreaks, antiviral therapy for the disease. Provides new potential targets for future development of.

The outbreak of Ebola, with very limited treatment options, occurred earlier this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Like viruses such as Hendra virus and rabies virus, Ebola is transmitted from animals to humans, and bats are considered to be the natural host.

A research team led by Dr. Gregory Moseley and Dr. Angela Harrison of the Institute for Biomedical Discovery, Monash University, is working with researchers at the Australian Center for Disease Preparation (ACDP, CSIRO) to show that Ebola virus can block the function of STAT3. discovered.Protein, an important "messenger" protein that transmits intracellular signals important for host immune regulation Inflammatory reaction For infectious diseases.

Importantly, using pathogenic virus infection at the highest biocontainment level (BSL4) and gene expression analysis and quantitative single-cell imaging, the research team found that STAT3 activity against Ebola virus. Although antiviral, Ebola virus targets and disables STAT3's messenger function through at least two different strategies, including binding to the STAT3 protein complex using a protein called VP24.

The findings were published in the journal today PLOS pathogen..

The elucidation of this all-new way in which the Ebola virus disarms the immune response is used in research towards the development of new antiviral drugs that prevent the Ebola virus, and perhaps other viruses, from interfering with the infected person's antiviral system. It may provide new targets that can be used. According to Dr. Moseley, they are to fight the disease. "This is because the Ebola virus uses more tricks, Immune system It emphasizes that viral targeting of STAT3 is more important than previously thought. Understanding this process provides new potential targets that may contribute to the development of treatments that block the ability of Ebola and other viruses to block the immune response, "he said.

Importantly, the STAT3 pathway is also involved in the pathogenesis of many other diseases, including cancer.Dr. Moseley believes he understands how Ebola is understood Virus Other viruses that specifically target and modify STAT3 may also provide new directions for developing treatments for diseases such as cancer.


Why doesn't Ebola cause bats like humans?


For more information:
DOI: 10.1371 / journal.ppat.1009636 Ebola virus antagonism of STAT3 signaling, PLOS pathogen (2021).

Provided by
Monash University

Quote: Discovery: An important insight into how Ebola virus evades immune defense (24 June 2021) is https: //medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-uncovered-crucial-insight-ebola-virus. Obtained from html on June 24, 2021

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