WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Opening doors to the possibility of developing new vaccines and antiviral agents to fight a host of insect-borne diseases, scientists have, for the first time, determined the structure of a family of viruses known as the flaviviruses.
Purdue University researchers, working with scientists at the California Institute of Technology, have solved the three-dimensional structure of the dengue virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes more than 50 million cases of infection and 24,000 deaths worldwide each year.
The findings, published in Friday's (3/8) issue of the scientific journal Cell, provide the first detailed view of a flavivirus and offer structural information that can be used to unravel the processes that lead to viral infection.
The flavivirus family includes a number of dangerous insect-borne diseases such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, tick-borne encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis. Together these viruses cause millions of cases of human illness each year. Several viruses from this family also are among a select group of viruses being studied to counteract potential bioterrorist attacks.
The discovery may help scientists develop antiviral compounds and other strategies to target dengue and other diseases caused by flaviviruses, says Richard Kuhn, associate professor of biological sciences and lead author of the study.
"This is an extremely important family of human pathogens, including West Nile, that is now present in the United States," Kuhn says. "By studying the structure of the virus, we can gain insights into the chemical and biological activity that occurs when the virus infects a human cell, and develop experiments to identify and target those activities."
Because all flavivirus are closely related, Kuhn says studying the structure of the dengue virus will reveal strategies that can be used to study other viruses in the family.
"We have every expectat
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Contact: Susan Gaidos
sgaidos@purdue.edu
765-494-2081
Purdue University
7-Mar-2002