Tag Archives: virus

disease, Healthy eating

Did you know that genetically engineered immune cells fight off deadly virus in mice?

Leave a comment

Researchers may have demonstrated a novel way to safeguard us from some of the world’s deadliest viruses. By genetically engineering immune cells, which will make more effective antibodies, they usually have defended mice from a potentially lethal lung virus. Precisely the same strategy can work in humans against diseases, which are why there are not any vaccines. Though, vaccines typically contain a disabled microbial invader or shards of their molecules. They stimulate immune cells known as B cells to crank out antibodies that target the pathogen. Not every person who receives a vaccine gains protection, however. Some patients’ antibodies are not up to snuff, for example. Moreover, researchers have not been able to develop vaccines against some microbes, such for example HIV additionally the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that causes lung infections mainly in children and folks with impaired immune systems.

To find out whether transplanting the modified cells could prevent infections, the scientists injected the genetically engineered B cells or control cells into mice and then exposed the animals to RSV. Five days later, the lungs of this control mice teemed utilizing the virus. However, the lungs of mice that had received the engineered cells contained almost no RSV, the researchers report today in Science Immunology. As soon as the researchers injected the modified B cells into mice with defective immune systems—a common problem in bone marrow recipients, who will be prone to RSV—the rodents could fight off the virus 82 days later.

disease, Health

Oral and Genital Herpes virus are having sex, unbelievable!

Leave a comment

There is a lot more “sex” going on between your dental and vaginal herpes viruses than scientists formerly believed, according to a study that is new. The study discovered that the two herpes simplex viruses  known as HSV-1 and HSV-2,  mix their material that is genetic together or “recombine,” more frequently than thought.

The scientists discover, fundamentally, that there was dramatically more recombination than had formerly been valued between the two viruses.

In addition, although scientists knew that the 2 viruses had mixed in the distant past, the brand new research shows that this mixing continues even today. Herpes viruses continue to be sex. However the blending looks to be a “one-way” adjust, with HSV-2 acquiring genes from HSV-1, and not the other means around, the authors stated.

The genital herpes virus (HSV-2) continues to evolve, which could have negative implications for public health, the researchers said as a result. For instance, HSV-2 might evolve in a manner that causes it to be resistant to current antiviral drugs.The ability of HSV-2 to mix with HSV-1 could also be a barrier to your growth of a vaccine against herpes, which does not yet exist, Greninger added.

Herpes history
The two herpes simplex viruses diverged from the virus that is single 6 million years back, with HSV-1 evolving to infect human ancestors, and HSV-2 evolving to infect primates, the authors published. But about 1.6 million years ago, HSV-2 jumped species to infect the human lineage as well. Ever since then, HSV-2 has been changing.

In recent years, studies have shown that most HSV-2 strains actually have some HSV-1 genes, indicating that these viruses mixed a very long time ago. But whether they still mixed today was unclear.

Within the brand new study, the researchers sequenced the genomes in excess of 250 herpes simplex viruses that were accumulated as biological samples from patients. Furthermore, they utilized information from 230 HSV examples that had been sequenced and made publicly available to scientists. The group discovered evidence of current blending between HSV-1 and HSV-2. In several instances, HSV-2 obtained big portions of DNA from HSV-1: 10 times larger than had formerly been observed, Greninger stated.

One instance in specific was notable since it occurred in someone having a vaginal “co-infection” with both HSV-1 and HSV-2. The strain that is HSV-2 this patient contained a big portion of DNA from HSV-1.

Such co-infections are most likely adding to the capability of the two viruses to blend. Astonishingly, although HSV-1 classically causes oral infections, in the past few years, it has been causing more genital infections, producing possibilities for co-infections.

Vaccine difficulties
The mixing of HSV-2 with HSV-1 could create challenges to creating vaccines against herpes simplex viruses. For instance, if scientists create an HSV-2 vaccine, the virus might be able to “swap down” some of its genes to flee being targeted because of the vaccine, Greninger said.

In addition, if scientist create a vaccine that contains a live, “attenuated” (or weakened) strain of HSV-2, it might be possible for this weakened strain to “reboot” and start to become more virulent if it acquired genes from HSV-1, the authors stated.