New research in PLoS Pathogens would inform both the design of novel vaccines and identification of antiviral compounds for a group of lethal viruses, called flaviviruses. The research, carried out by Leslie Goo, Kimberly Dowd, and Theodore Pierson from National Institutes of Health (NIH), together with Laura VanBlargan and Michael Diamond from Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), provides insight into the molecular basis and consequences of a important process for flavivirus infection called “breathing.” Flavivirus is a genus of viruses in the family Flaviviridae. Its genetic material is RNA. It includes about 75 species such as West Nile virus, dengue fever virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus constitute a big threat to human health. Flaviviruses are transmitted by infected ticks or mosquitoes. Currently there is no effective treatments or vaccines for many of them. A lot o efforts have been made to find ways to combat flaviviruses. In this research NIH and MUSM scientists focused on the interactions between flaviviruses and antibodies produced by the body’s immune system. They investigated the effects of mutations in the envelop (E) protein of flaviviruses. The E protein is a structurally flexible protein: it can change its shape in a process called “viral breathing,” which alternately hides and exposes certain parts of the protein. Although E protein has been implicated in infection, its action is not fully understood. Using the West Nile virus E protein, the researchers identified a single mutation called T198F at a region of the protein that regulates viral breathing. The mutation resulted in a great increase in sensitivity of E protein to neutralization by antibodies. In the following experiments, they found that introduction of the T198F mutation into dengue virus made a hidden protein region more vulnerable to antibodies, and decreased virus stability in solution. Mice experiments showed that West Nile virus carrying the mutation had reduced infectivity. An estimated 2.5 billion people living in tropical and sub-tropical regions are at risk of exposing to Dengue virus. Dengue is mainly found in the tropics because the mosquitoes that transmit it require a warm climate. The virus affects up to?400 million people each year. Other flaviviruses such as West Nile virus and Zika viruses also threaten human health. Cusabio provides proteins and antibodies such as HRP conjugated antibody.
