US EditionStudy Reveals How Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Enters Cells
LRP8 protein enables tick-borne encephalitis virus to infect brain cells, with 95% of treated animals avoiding infection, aiding antiviral drug development.
- Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and collaborators identified LRP8 as a cell-surface protein essential for tick-borne encephalitis virus to infect human brain cells, announced today.
- This discovery came after years of unsuccessful attempts to find a host protein receptor for flaviviruses, including TBEV, which spreads through tick bites causing serious neurological disease.
- Researchers from multiple institutions, including USAMRIID, conducted mouse experiments that highlighted LRP8’s role in tick-borne encephalitis virus infection, with 19 out of 20 treated mice showing no symptoms of the disease.
- Sara Gredmark Russ highlighted that this discovery marks a breakthrough in pinpointing a key host cell protein that serves as a receptor for flaviviruses, paving the way for new research into receptors and potential treatments for diseases caused by these viruses.
- This finding opens opportunities to develop new antivirals and improve prevention, though further studies are needed to clarify LRP8’s role and the brain’s response during TBEV infection.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Buffalo News
Study Reveals How Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Enters Cells
A Cell-Surface Protein Provides Key to Infection
Key protein for tick-borne encephalitis revealed: How the virus enters brain cells
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with international colleagues, have identified a protein on the surface of cells that is crucial to allowing the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus to enter the body. The discovery, published in the journal Nature, could pave the way for new treatments for TBE.
How a tick-borne virus enters human cells
Tick-borne encephalitis virus can infect the nervous system and cause life-threatening illness. Finding the cellular gateway it uses could transform prevention and treatment. Tick-borne encephalitis virus can infect the nervous system and cause life-threatening illness. Finding the cellular gateway it uses could transform prevention and treatment.
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