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While there is still much we don't understand about how influenza viruses function, there has been renewed interest in researching these pathogens over the past few years, and we are beginning to see some results.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are studying the internal structures of avian influenza viruses, using a technique called x-ray crystallography.
Their latest research appears in the journal Nature, where they explain how pieces of protein inside the virus may help avian viruses to evade the body's immune system.
Avian flu uses tubes to dupe immune system
Thursday, 6 November 2008
The deadly H5N1 flu virus disarms the human immune system by hiding bits of genetic material that would normally trigger an infection alarm, say researchers.
Pieces of protein inside the virus form tube-like structures that obscure strands of RNA formed as host cells are attacked, according to the study, which appears in the journal Nature.
The finding may explain why this strain of bird flu is so deadly in people, and could lead to drugs that will unmask the virus and let our natural defences do their job, say the study's authors.
"Once we confirm the importance of this structural information, we should be able to design drugs to block this action," says lead author Professor Venkataram Prasad of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
Earlier research had shown that the so-called NS1 protein played a key role in H5N1's virulence.
In experiments, Prasad and co-author Zachary Bornholdt crystallised the proteins, making it possible to analyse their three-dimensional structure using a technique called x-ray crystallography.
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