UGA researchers investigate virus pathways
ATHENS, GA.- 10/18/05 - University of Georgia (UGA) veterinary researchers say blocking a protein that helps transport viruses from a cell could prevent the infection from reproducing and contaminating other cells.
ATHENS, GA.- 10/18/05 - University of Georgia (UGA) veterinary researchers say blocking a protein that helps transport viruses from a cell could prevent the infection from reproducing and contaminating other cells.
Interfering with the Rab9 protein's pathway dramatically decreases virus' ability to spread and produce infection, explains Thomas Hodge, research professor of infection disease at UGA.
Blocking the Rab9-cellular protein showed promise for four viruses responsible for HIV, measles, Ebola and Marburg, according to a study published in the Journal of Virology. Researchers are targeting the host cell rather than the virus itself like most other antiviral therapies.
Scientists participating in the research include investigators from UGA, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
