![]() ![]() “And by capping, I mean there are chemical modifications done to one end of the genome that makes the viral RNA more stable in the cell. Graduate student and study co-author Marya Ornelas said there are several viral replication pathways that are common among these viruses and could be targeted for development of antivirals or vaccines, and this capping mechanism is one of them. This masking effect is essential for these viruses to reproduce and evade the host’s immune system. Once inside a cell, part of the genetic material of these RNA viruses – called the genome cap structure – disguises the genetic material of the virus to resemble the messenger RNA cap structure of their host. Their platform targets a mechanism that is highly conserved among these types of viruses – a disguise that enables them to go undetected as they invade the host cells and begin multiplying. They describe their work in a recently published paper, “Synthetic Platforms for Characterizing and Targeting of SARS-CoV-2 Genome Capping Enzymes,” in the journal, ACS Synthetic Biology. It could also impact future vaccine development. ![]() Balthazor Faculty Scholar, have developed a synthetic biological system, or platform, that can be rapidly modified for the purpose of developing antiviral therapeutics for a variety of RNA viruses. Researchers in the lab of Illinois chemistry professor Angad P. These threats to world health and the threat of newly emerging RNA virus-related outbreaks emphasize the need to develop new broad-spectrum antiviral medications and vaccines applicable to these viruses, which also cause the common cold, influenza, Dengue Virus, West Nile fever, mumps, measles and more. In the last 20 years, the world has experienced SARS-CoV in 2003, the MERS-CoV outbreak in 2012, and the Ebola virus in 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant and widespread ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus-related outbreaks ever, accounting for more than 470 million infections and more than 6 million deaths worldwide so far. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |