The study is being published September 14 in Science X-Press, an advanced, online edition of the journal Science.
In the study, the researchers suggest that herpes simplex encephalitis may reflect a single gene immunodeficiency that confers susceptibility to herpes simplex virus, an idea that contrasts with the prevailing scientific theory of how genes work to make people vulnerable to infections. These new findings, the study added, may apply to other infectious diseases as well.
In the study, scientists focused on blood cells from two French children with a deficiency for UNC-93B, an endoplasmic reticulum protein involved in the recognition of pathogens. When infected with herpes simplex virus-1, the UNC-93B-deficient cells were unable to produce natural interferons alpha, beta, and gamma (IFNs -?/? and -?). Interferons are produced by the immune system to fight infections and tumors.
This deficiency resulted in high rates of herpes simplex virus-1 proliferation and cell death. Assuming these findings extend to neurons, they provide a plausible mechanism for herpes simplex encephalitis.
"We and our colleagues have identified recessive UNC-93B deficiency as a genetic etiology of herpes simplex encephalitis in otherwise healthy patients," said Professor Bruce Beutler, M.D., one of three Scripps Research scientists who contributed to the study. "The discovery of this genetic cause for herpes simplex encephalitis not only broadens our understanding of these types of immunodeficiencies, but also has important therapeutic implications-some of these patients could benefit from recombinant interferon alpha (IFN-?) treatment, just as patients with low levels of naturally occurring interferon gamma (IFN-?) benefit from a similar life-saving approach."
Herpes simplex virus-1 is a common virus that infects about 80 percent of young adults worldwide. Herpes simplex encephalitis, a viral infection of the brain that affects other
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Contact: Keith McKeown
kmckeown@scripps.edu
858-784-8134
Scripps Research Institute
15-Sep-2006