LA JOLLA, CA, June 22, 2006 -- Using electron cryomicroscopy and computer image analysis, the scientists visualized two intermediate forms of the virus that exist within infected cells. In addition, they were able to determine a three-dimensional map by analysis of infectious hepatitis B virus isolated from patient blood samples. These results could help future researchers understand more clearly how hepatitis B virus replicates in the cell and point the way toward new therapeutic approaches that could disrupt the hepatitis B virus infection pathway.

The study, a collaborative effort between the laboratories of Scripps Research scientists Professor Mark Yeager, M.D., Ph.D., and Professor Francis V. Chisari, M.D., was published in the June 23, 2006 (Volume 22, Issue 6) edition of the journal Molecular Cell.

More than 350 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B virus, which kills more than a million each year due to acute and chronic hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The virus, which attacks the liver, is spread through infected blood transfusions, needle sharing by intravenous drug abusers and sexual contact.

Virions are inert virus particles that carry the virus genome from cell to cell. In the hepatitis B virus, this genetic material is protected by a shell of protein molecules called a capsid. Hepatitis B virions, also known as Dane particles, are approximately 40 nanometers in size, and the capsid is surrounded by a membrane envelope. While the structure of the hepatitis B capsid has been studied intensively in vitro, until this study little was known about the structure and assembly of native capsids present in infected cells in vivo, and even less was known about the structure of mature virions.

"We used cryomicroscopy and image analysis to examine the native structure of HBV [hepatitis B virus ] capsids from transgenic mice and virions isolated from patient blood samples," Yeager said. "By rapidly freezin
'"/>

Contact: Keith McKeown
kmckeown@scripps.edu
858-784-8134
Scripps Research Institute
22-Jun-2006

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Researchers find pathway that controls cell size and division
2. Researchers watch antibiotics, bacteria meet at atomic level
3. Researchers discover gene responsible for Restless Legs Syndrome
4. Researchers witness natural selection at work in dramatic comeback of male butterflies
5. Researchers discover human embryonic stem cells are the ultimate perpetual fuel cell
6. Researchers use new approach to predict protein function
7. Researchers probe risks, benefits of folic acid fortification
8. Researchers identify genetic mutation that may alter tumor cell proliferation
9. Researchers discover method for identifying how cancer evades the immune system
10. Researchers use adult stem cells to create soft tissue
11. Researchers find gene that spurs development of the epididymis