HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Study provides new details of 'the birth of a virus'

BOSTON - With sinister efficiency, retroviruses such as HIV use only a small portion of their genetic programming to steal away from the cell where they were born and infect other cells. A study published this week by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides new details of how retroviruses make their escape and cloak themselves in the cell's membrane to avoid attack from the body's immune system.

The study, published in the November 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is one of three in the journal to focus on the mechanics of viral departure from cells - research that may one day lead to new techniques for arresting the process and preventing the spread of viral infection within the body.

"The last stages of the formation of viruses within cells and the process by which viruses leave cells are among the least understood aspects of the viral life cycle," says senior author Heinrich Gttlinger, M.D., of Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School. "Our research sheds light on previously unknown aspects of this process and on the mechanisms that cause a virus to assemble in the first place."

The Dana-Farber study spotlights the function of ubiquitins, which help viruses break free from the cells where they were born, and on a viral segment known as the "late domain," which is in a protein called Gag. The domain, as its name suggests, comes into play late in the process by which viruses are assembled inside cells, just before they leave to infect other cells.

The process works like this: After infecting a cell, a virus takes over a cell's reproductive machinery to produce thousands of copies of itself. The not-yet-fully-assembled viruses - really just packets of RNA at this point - congregate inside the cell membrane like protesters pressing against a police barricade. The cell membrane begins to bulge and eventually forms a "bubble" that seals the viral RNA off from the rest of th
'"/>

Contact: Todd Ringler
todd_ringler@dfci.harvard.edu
617-632-5357
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
20-Nov-2000


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Study: Emission of smog ingredients from trees is increasing rapidly
2. Study explores gene transfer to modify underlying course of Alzheimers disease
3. Study reveals why eyes in some paintings seem to follow viewers
4. Study by Israeli scientists provides insight on DNA code
5. Study reveals first genetic step necessary for prostate cancer growth
6. Study of flu patients reveals virus outsmarting key drug
7. Study in Science reveals recreational fishing takes big bite of ocean catch
8. Study suggests cell-cycle triggers might be cancer drug targets
9. Study narrows search for genes placing men at increased risk for prostate cancer
10. Study links high carbohydrate diet to increased breast cancer risk
11. Study explains spatial orientation differences between sexes

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Study provides new details the birth virus

(Date:5/16/2013)... Bethesda, MD (May 17, 2013) Illustrating a ... the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Foundation ... Future Student Research Fellowship Award recipients. Supported by ... Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), this new award helps underrepresented ... digestive disease and nutrition research. , "By establishing ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... HOUSTON African-American adults living closer to a fast ... than those who lived further away from fast food, ... Anderson Cancer Center, and this association was particularly strong ... new study published online in the American Journal ... residential proximity to a fast food restaurant, and among ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... developed at MIT may someday eliminate the need ... monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with ... glucose levels in the body and respond by ... the function of pancreatic islet cells, which are ... this type of system could ensure that blood-sugar ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Underrepresented minority students receive fellowships in digestive disease and nutrition research 2Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants 2Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants 3Nanotechnology could help fight diabetes 2Nanotechnology could help fight diabetes 3
(Date:5/17/2013)... 2013  Insero Health, Inc., a company developing natural ... related neurological disorders, is today reporting top-line results from ... in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.  The data are being ... Xll meeting by Dr. Steven Schachter ... Scientific Advisory Board.  In this study, INS001 appeared safe ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... The paradigm of ‘one drug, one ... can help predict the adverse and therapeutic effects of ... of Computational Biology at the Genomics Laboratory, Covance, will ... high-quality genomics when used as part of the QC ... data sets to identify key clinical targets even in ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Rust removal is one of home maintenance's essential processes. Without ... To help rust contractors make it less expensive, My Cleaning ... it called Rusterizer. It announced that for this month, ... Cleaning Products explained that rust could damage items in two ... The first one, it said, happens when rust forms in ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Darrington, WA (PRWEB) May 17, 2013 Tooth ... 5th graders showing active signs of the disease. The World ... children and nearly 100% of adults have cavities. What are ... Research is showing a strong connection between the oral ... why is this disease so rampant, yet it is also ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Insero Health Reports Positive Data on Phase I Trial of Novel Therapy for Drug-resistant Epilepsy 2Organic-Based Rust Remover Cuts Down Price by 10%, My Cleaning Products Details Mechanics How to Get the Discount 2Seeing the Future: How a Revolutionary New Bacterial Screening Device Can Predict a Patient’s Future for Tooth Decay 2Seeing the Future: How a Revolutionary New Bacterial Screening Device Can Predict a Patient’s Future for Tooth Decay 3
Cached News: