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

NIH-funded scientists identify receptor for asthma-associated virus

Receptor gene variant may increase risk of childhood illnesses, asthma

2015-04-06
(Press-News.org) Scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified a cellular receptor for rhinovirus C, a cold-causing virus that is strongly associated with severe asthma attacks. A variant in the gene for this receptor previously had been linked to asthma in genetic studies, but the potential role of the receptor, called CDHR3, in asthma was unknown. The new findings help clarify the function of CDHR3 and point to a novel target for the development of prevention and treatment strategies against rhinovirus C-induced colds and asthma attacks.

Researchers led by James Gern, M.D., at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discovered that CDHR3 recognizes and binds rhinovirus C, enabling the virus to enter human cells. Like all viruses, rhinovirus C uses the molecular machinery of host cells to replicate and become infectious. While the cellular receptors for other rhinovirus types are known, the rhinovirus C receptor had remained elusive. The scientists identified CDHR3 as a potential candidate by analyzing cells that either were or were not susceptible to rhinovirus C infection. When engineered to produce CDHR3, cells that normally were not susceptible to rhinovirus C could bind the virus and support its replication.

Notably, cells bearing a specific CDHR3 gene variant showed greatly enhanced rhinovirus C binding and produced more progeny virus than cells with normal CDHR3. In previous genetic studies, this variant had been linked to a greater risk of wheezing illnesses and asthma hospitalizations during childhood. The new findings suggest that this gene variant could be a risk factor for childhood wheezing illnesses caused by rhinovirus C, which in turn may increase the risk of developing asthma. In the future, development of drugs that block CDHR3 potentially could help prevent and treat illnesses caused by rhinovirus C.

INFORMATION:

YA Bochkov et al. Cadherin-related family member 3, a childhood asthma susceptibility gene product, mediates rhinovirus C binding and replication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421178112 (2015).

Alkis Togias, M.D., chief of the Allergy, Asthma and Airway Biology Branch in NIAID's Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, is available to comment on the findings.

To schedule interviews, please contact Hillary Hoffman. NIAID conducts and supports research--at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide--to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website .

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Computers that mimic the function of the brain

2015-04-06
Researchers are always searching for improved technologies, but the most efficient computer possible already exists. It can learn and adapt without needing to be programmed or updated. It has nearly limitless memory, is difficult to crash, and works at extremely fast speeds. It's not a Mac or a PC; it's the human brain. And scientists around the world want to mimic its abilities. Both academic and industrial laboratories are working to develop computers that operate more like the human brain. Instead of operating like a conventional, digital system, these new devices ...

Breastfeeding women and sex: Higher sex drive or relationship management?

2015-04-06
New mothers in the Philippines spend more time in the bedroom with their partner in the first few weeks after giving birth than they did before they became pregnant. This might be a type of survival strategy to keep the relationships with the fathers of their new babies alive and well, to ensure continued support for their offspring. So says Michelle Escasa-Dorne of the University of Colorado in the US, after studying how women from a society with a low divorce rate such as the Philippines adapt to being both mothers and lovers. The study appears in Springer's journal Human ...

Common antidepressant increased coronary atherosclerosis in animal model

2015-04-06
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - April 6, 2015 - A commonly prescribed antidepressant caused up to a six-fold increase in atherosclerosis plaque in the coronary arteries of non-human primates, according to a study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Coronary artery atherosclerosis is the primary cause of heart attacks. The study is published in the current online issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. "The medical community has known for years that depression is closely associated with heart disease, but we didn't know if treating it would reduce the heart ...

Characteristic pattern of protein deposits in brains of retired NFL players who suffered concussions

Characteristic pattern of protein deposits in brains of retired NFL players who suffered concussions
2015-04-06
A new UCLA study takes another step toward the early understanding of a degenerative brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which affects athletes in contact sports who are exposed to repetitive brain injuries. Using a new imaging tool, researchers found a strikingly similar pattern of abnormal protein deposits in the brains of retired NFL players who suffered from concussions. The innovative imaging technique uses a chemical marker combined with positron emission tomography, or PET scan, and was initially tested in five retired NFL players ...

New research complicates seismic hazard for British Columbia, Alaska region

2015-04-06
SAN FRANCISCO--The Pacific and North America plate boundary off the coast of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska is a complex system of faults capable of producing very large earthquakes. The recent 2012 Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii and 2013 Mw 7.5 Craig earthquakes released strain built up over years, but did not release strain along the Queen Charlotte Fault, which remains the likely source of a future large earthquake, according to reports published in a special issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA). "The study of these two quakes revealed ...

Study identifies protein that triggers lupus-associated immune system activation

2015-04-06
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have identified an inflammatory molecule that appears to play an essential role in the autoimmune disorder systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus. In their report being published online in Nature Immunology, the researchers describe finding that a protein that regulates certain cells in the innate immune system - the body's first line of defense against infection - activates a molecular pathway known to be associated with lupus and that the protein's activity is required for the development of lupus symptoms ...

Better sensors for medical imaging, contraband detection

2015-04-06
MIT researchers have developed a new, ultrasensitive magnetic-field detector that is 1,000 times more energy-efficient than its predecessors. It could lead to miniaturized, battery-powered devices for medical and materials imaging, contraband detection, and even geological exploration. Magnetic-field detectors, or magnetometers, are already used for all those applications. But existing technologies have drawbacks: Some rely on gas-filled chambers; others work only in narrow frequency bands, limiting their utility. Synthetic diamonds with nitrogen vacancies (NVs) -- ...

Researchers track protein 'hitchhiker' in fluorescent worms

Researchers track protein hitchhiker in fluorescent worms
2015-04-06
Dividing cells--whether they're in an embryo or an adult--rely on the right processes happening at the right time to turn out healthy. Now, researchers at the University of Iowa have identified a mechanism that dividing cells in worms use to ensure their proper development, and they believe the same process could be going on in humans. The mechanism, unknown until now, describes one part of the cell, called the centrosome, as an "internal timekeeper"--like a train conductor. A crucial protein in charge of gene expression, beta-catenin, is described as a "hitchhiker"--it ...

Working up a sweat -- it could save your life

2015-04-06
Physical activity that makes you puff and sweat is key to avoiding an early death, a large Australian study of middle-aged and older adults has found. The researchers followed 204,542 people for more than six years, and compared those who engaged in only moderate activity (such as gentle swimming, social tennis, or household chores) with those who included at least some vigorous activity (such as jogging, aerobics or competitive tennis). They found that the risk of mortality for those who included some vigorous activity was 9 to 13 per cent lower, compared with those ...

We can fix the Great Barrier Reef

We can fix the Great Barrier Reef
2015-04-06
Leading coral reef scientists say Australia could restore the Great Barrier Reef to its former glory through better policies that focus on science, protection and conservation. In a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the authors argue that all the stressors on the Reef need to be reduced for it to recover. An Australian Government report into the state of the Great Barrier Reef found that its condition in 2014 was "poor and expected to further deteriorate in the future". In the past 40 years, the Reef has lost more than half of its coral cover and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Parents of children with health conditions less confident about a positive school year

New guideline standardizes consent for research participants in Canada

Research as reconciliation: Oil sands and health

AI risks overwriting history and the skills of historians have never been more important, leading academic outlines in new paper

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Higher doses of semaglutide can safely enhance weight loss and improve health for adults living with obesity, two new clinical trials confirm

Trauma focused therapy shows promise for children struggling with PTSD

School meals could drive economic growth and food system transformation

Home training for cerebellar ataxias

Dry eyes affect over half the general population, yet only a fifth receive diagnosis and treatment

Researchers sound warning about women with type 2 diabetes taking oral HRT

Overweight and obesity don’t always increase the risk of an early death, Danish study finds

Cannabis use associated with a quadrupling of risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds study of over 4 million adults

Gestational diabetes linked to cognitive decline in mothers and increased risk of developmental delays, ADHD and autism among children

Could we use eye drops instead of reading glasses as we age?

Patients who had cataracts removed or their eyesight corrected with a new type of lens have good vision over all distances without spectacles

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

[Press-News.org] NIH-funded scientists identify receptor for asthma-associated virus
Receptor gene variant may increase risk of childhood illnesses, asthma