New study advances knowledge of the battle between viruses and human cells

A University of Massachusetts team of students and a University of Massachusetts virologist have identified some human RNA that can resist the viral takeover of a human host.

This discovery is an important step in the effort to develop anti-viral drugs to fight off infections.

The next step is to figure out if we can manipulate this to our advantage.

Student researchers in the Muller Lab are studying how the Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesviruses hides for years inside the human body before trying to gain control over human gene expression to complete the viral infection. People with a weakened immune system are more likely to develop Kaposi sarcoma cancer.

The researchers use a variety of technologies to look at how the human cell or the virus knows how to prevent degradation.

Muller says thatViruses are smart and don't do a lot of damage for a long time.

At some point, at some point many, many years later, they reactivate. The way they do this is by triggering a huge event where the virus will destroy the cell. That means the human system can no longer express the proteins that it needs to express, and that means also that a lot of resources are suddenly available for the virus.

How and why someRNA are able to escape the viral degradation are questions that Muller's team has. Muller received a research award from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences in 2020.

The chemical tag on the RNA that escapes makes them different from the others.

Muller has been studying KSHV since she was an undergrad in France.

She says that they know that you need thisProtein to protect theRNA from degradation, but they don't know how that stops the degradation.

Understanding the mechanisms and pathways involved in the KSHV infection may lead to the development of new drugs to treat viral diseases.

Muller says that by identifying the factors that make an mRNA resistant or susceptible to decay, we could use those findings to better design anti-viral drugs.

More information: Daniel Macveigh-Fierro et al, The m6A reader YTHDC2 is essential for escape from KSHV SOX-induced RNA decay, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116662119 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Citation: New study advances knowledge of the battle between viruses and human cells (2022, February 18) retrieved 19 February 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-02-advances-knowledge-viruses-human-cells.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.