Researchers at University of Cambridge in the UK have discovered how HSV-1 replicates in cells and eludes the immune system, leading to hope for new treatments.
Sarasota, USA - November 19, 2015 /PressCable/ —
Pioneering research at the University of Cambridge in the UK, in collaboration with two Universities in Germany may have unlocked the mystery of how HSV-1 hides and replicates in cells.
Three prestigious universities, one in the UK and two in Germany have discovered how the HSV-1 may invade cells, using their own mechanisms to elude the immune system while replicating itself and spreading through the body.
The journal Nature Communications recently published the fascinating research that describes the process by which the HSV-1 deposits its own DNA into the host’s DNA and then systematically assumes control by influencing the new production of cell proteins — cleverly utilizing it to create proteins for its own replication — which is also an extremely effective camouflage from the immune system.
What makes this new discovery so unique is that sheds light on the mysterious way the virus processes in a cell, instead of the immune system, as cultures of human connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts, were studied by the research team to investigate specifically how HSV-1 dominates the RNA molecules during gene transcription.
The results evolved within 4 hours of the entrance of HSV-1 into a host cell — when researchers expected to see the typical process that transcribes DNA into RNA — which usually ends as it comes to the end of the gene, through a coded message.
What they found instead was astonishing – the host cell that was dominated by HSV-1 did not respond to the end code – continuing to transcribe DNA into RNA – but not in the usual fashion. Ironically, the RNA was transcribed with thousands of irrelevant A, C, G sections, and T code that could not be developed into proteins.
“It’s like someone transcribing a short story, but instead of stopping at ‘The End,’ they carry on and transcribe all the copyright and publication details and ISBN numbers at the beginning and end of the book. This produces lots of meaningless, confusing and useless information”, the lead study researcher explained.
Further stunning discoveries showed that the HSV-1 DNA is transcribed perfectly, intact, and usable throughout an infection, but the host DNA is transcribed into utter non-usable code. This mechanism causes the host cell DNA to shut down, which can trick and disarm the immune system.
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