Viroblogy

Hi folks,
Wanted to share some news with you. We just published a paper about Ebola virus infection and a possible anti-Ebola drug strategy in Science magazine (available here). The print version will come out later this month, and I will link to it on this blog.

A summary of the paper for non-biologists is as follows:

We found two proteins in the cell that Ebola virus exploits in order to start an infection.

Blocking what these proteins do blocks Ebola virus infection, suggesting a treatment strategy. However, this is only the start of the long and tortuous journey toward a drug, We would like to participate in it, but there are many stumbling blocks, both scientific and political. Only time will tell how far this will go.

The mechanistic details of how Ebola uses these cell proteins is unusual and interesting -- nothing like this has been seen for other viruses of this type.

Another very different virus also uses these exact proteins to infect cells, and (play the Twilight Zone theme here) I used to work on it in grad school.

We are thinking that viruses that are related to Ebola (e.g., Marburg virus, which is currently in the news) and possibly other pathogenic viruses,may also use the kind of mechanism we've found for Ebola. If true, this would be fantastic for trying to make one drug that would work against multiple bugs.

There are impending press releases from our hospital as well as the NIH, and we've been interviewed by journalists (from the BBC and Reuters!) the last couple of days, so there may be news stories in some shape or form. Will update the blog with links if/when I have more info.

Please post yr comments, ideas for future experiments, and job offers on the blog :)

Nothing about that guy in Andhra Pradesh who puts fish in your mouth as a cure for all ailments, please.

Cheers,
Kartik