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1 year ago
Biologists spy close-up view of poliovirus linked to host cell receptor
Monday, 08 December 2008
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http://www.nerve.in/news:253500191423
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The research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, is not immediately geared toward medical applications. However, such findings might one day help scientists design better vaccines for the poliovirus and aid in research into the infection processes of other viruses, Rossmann said.
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By
Purdue University
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers from Purdue and Stony Brook universities have determined the precise atomic-scale structure of the poliovirus attached to key receptor molecules in human host cells and also have taken a vital snapshot of processes leading to infection.
The virus binds to a receptor on the cell to form a single complex.
This structure had been predicted, but the predictions were not as accurate as we had thought, said Michael Rossmann, Purdue's Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences. What we have now is the real structure, as opposed to a prediction of the receptor molecule. We also have a much higher resolution view of the complex of the receptor when bound to the virus.
The work was carried out by Ping Zhang, a Purdue doctoral student, and others working in Rossmann's laboratory in collaboration with the group at Stony Brook University in New York.
These findings show the detailed relationship between atoms in the receptor and atoms in the virus, Rossmann said.
The research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, is not immediately geared toward medical applications. However, such findings might one day help scientists design better vaccines for the poliovirus and aid in research into the infection processes of other viruses, Rossmann said.
The findings are detailed in a research paper that appeared on Nov. 25 in the journal
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