PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Model virus structure shows why there's no cure for common cold

2013-10-29
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Ann C. Palmenberg
acpalmen@wisc.edu
608-262-7519
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Model virus structure shows why there's no cure for common cold MADISON, Wis. – In a pair of landmark studies that exploit the genetic sequencing of the "missing link" cold virus, rhinovirus C, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have constructed a three-dimensional model of the pathogen that shows why there is no cure yet for the common cold.

Writing today (Oct. 28, 2013) in the journal Virology, a team led by UW-Madison biochemistry Professor Ann Palmenberg provides a meticulous topographical model of the capsid or protein shell of a cold virus that until 2006 was unknown to science.

Rhinovirus C is believed to be responsible for up to half of all childhood colds, and is a serious complicating factor for respiratory conditions such as asthma. Together with rhinoviruses A and B, the recently discovered virus is responsible for millions of illnesses yearly at an estimated annual cost of more than $40 billion in the United States alone.

The work is important because it sculpts a highly detailed structural model of the virus, showing that the protein shell of the virus is distinct from those of other strains of cold viruses.

"The question we sought to answer was how is it different and what can we do about it? We found it is indeed quite different," says Palmenberg, noting that the new structure "explains most of the previous failures of drug trials against rhinovirus."

The A and B families of cold virus, including their three-dimensional structures, have long been known to science as they can easily be grown and studied in the lab. Rhinovirus C, on the other hand, resists culturing and escaped notice entirely until 2006 when "gene chips" and advanced gene sequencing revealed the virus had long been lurking in human cells alongside the more observable A and B virus strains.

The new cold virus model was built "in silico," drawing on advanced bioinformatics and the genetic sequences of 500 rhinovirus C genomes, which provided the three-dimensional coordinates of the viral capsid.

"It's a very high-resolution model," notes Palmenberg, whose group along with a team from the University of Maryland was the first to map the genomes for all known common cold virus strains in 2009. "We can see that it fits the data."

With a structure in hand, the likelihood that drugs can be designed to effectively thwart colds may be in the offing. Drugs that work well against the A and B strains of cold virus have been developed and advanced to clinical trials. However, their efficacy was blunted because they were built to take advantage of the surface features of the better known strains, whose structures were resolved years ago through X-ray crystallography, a well-established technique for obtaining the structures of critical molecules.

Because all three cold virus strains all contribute to the common cold, drug candidates failed as the surface features that permit rhinovirus C to dock with host cells and evade the immune system were unknown and different from those of rhinovirus A and B.

Based on the new structure, "we predict you'll have to make a C-specific drug," explains Holly A. Basta, the lead author of the study and a graduate student working with Palmenberg in the UW-Madison Institute for Molecular Virology. "All the [existing] drugs we tested did not work."

Antiviral drugs work by attaching to and modifying surface features of the virus. To be effective, a drug, like the right piece of a jigsaw puzzle, must fit and lock into the virus. The lack of a three-dimensional structure for rhinovirus C meant that the pharmaceutical companies designing cold-thwarting drugs were flying blind.

"It has a different receptor and a different receptor-binding platform," Palmenberg explains. "Because it's different, we have to go after it in a different way."

###

In addition to Basta and Palmenberg, co-authors of the new studies include Jean-Yves Sgro, Shamaila Ashraf, Yury Bochkov and James E. Gern, all of UW-Madison.

—Terry Devitt, 608-262-8282, trdevitt@wisc.edu

The new rhinovirus C studies were supported by the National Institutes of Health, grants AI17331 and U19 AI104317.

NOTE: An image of the model can be downloaded at http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/coldVirus_13.html

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Common bias known as the 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies

2013-10-29
Common bias known as the 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies Centuries of economic theory have been based on one simple premise: when given a choice between two items, people make the rational decision and select the one they value more. ...

Researchers quantify toxic ocean conditions during major extinction 93.9 million years ago

2013-10-29
Researchers quantify toxic ocean conditions during major extinction 93.9 million years ago UC Riverside-led study points to an ancient oxygen-free and hydrogen sulfide-rich ocean that may foreshadow our future RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Oxygen in the atmosphere ...

Researchers detail possible resistance mechanisms of colorectal cancer to bevacizumab (Avastin)

2013-10-29
Researchers detail possible resistance mechanisms of colorectal cancer to bevacizumab (Avastin) A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLOS ONE shows that when colorectal cancer is targeted by the drug bevacizumab (Avastin), tumors ...

U of M researchers identify key proteins influencing major immune strategies

2013-10-29
U of M researchers identify key proteins influencing major immune strategies Findings could help define new vaccination applications MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (October 27, 2013) – New research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, ...

UT Dallas study shows experts' attitudes influence what children believe

2013-10-29
UT Dallas study shows experts' attitudes influence what children believe Children are more apt to believe a nice, non-expert than a mean expert according to researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas. In the study published in Developmental Science, ...

Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth

2013-10-29
Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth Low birth weight infants are host to numerous microorganisms immediately after birth, and the microbiomes of their mouths and gut start out very similar but differentiate ...

GW researchers examine increased ER reimbursements after ACA insurance coverage expansions

2013-10-29
GW researchers examine increased ER reimbursements after ACA insurance coverage expansions WASHINGTON (Oct. 28, 2013) – Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) found that outpatient emergency department encounters ...

HIV -- Geneticists map human resistance to AIDS

2013-10-29
HIV -- Geneticists map human resistance to AIDS Do our genes hold the key to future AIDS therapies? Using a supercomputer, scientists analyzed the genomes of thousands of strains of the HIV virus and have produced the first map of human AIDS ...

Obamacare could reverse long trend of uncompensated care in ERs

2013-10-29
Obamacare could reverse long trend of uncompensated care in ERs WASHINGTON — Emergency departments, which have suffered shortfalls in reimbursement for decades due to the high rate of uninsurance in the United States, may begin receiving "considerably ...

People seem more attractive in a group than they do apart

2013-10-29
People seem more attractive in a group than they do apart People tend to be rated as more attractive when they're part of a group than when they're alone, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

[Press-News.org] Model virus structure shows why there's no cure for common cold