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

Cells help viruses during cell entry

2015-07-09
(Press-News.org) Adenoviruses cause numerous diseases, such as eye or respiratory infections, and they are widely used in gene therapy. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered how these viruses penetrate the cells, a key step for infection and gene delivery The cell unwillingly supports virus entry and infection by providing lipids that are normally used to repair damaged membranes.

An intact cell membrane is essential for any cell to function. The external cell membrane can be damaged by mechanical stress, for example in muscle cells, or by pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria. Membrane damage can result in small pores, which lead to loss of valuable substances from the cell. The cell can quickly repair such injuries to its membrane. Human adenoviruses also cause small pores in the cell membrane, as a team of cell biologists headed by Urs Greber, a professor at the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Zurich, has now discovered. These pores are too small for the virus to get directly into the cell but are large enough for the cell to recognize them as a danger signal and repair them in a matter of seconds. The adenovirus uses this very repair mechanism to trigger an infection.

Certain lipids help the virus to enter the cell

During this repair process, lipids - in particular ceramide lipids - are formed, which enable the virus to enter the cell more rapidly. The ceramide lipids cause the membrane to bend and endosomes to form. Endosomes are small bubbles of lipids and proteins and they engulf extracellular material, such as nutrients, but also viruses. With the aid of the ceramide lipids, the virus increases the size of the membrane lesions, and can leave the endosome before the endosome becomes a lysosome and degrades the virus. The virus then multiplies in the nucleus and subsequently infects other cells. "We have identified particular cellular lipids as key components for the virus to enter into cells, which is surprising as lipids have important roles in biology, but these roles are difficult to identify," explains Stefania Luisoni, the first author on the study and a doctoral student at the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences.

The scientists identified a connection between the formation of a membrane pore by the virus and a cellular repair mechanism. These events form a positive feedback loop, which is part of the explanation for the high infection efficiency of the adenoviruses, which scientists have known for some time. The work also identified a new inhibitor against the adenoviruses, which inhibits the cellular protein "lysosomal acid sphingomyelinase", and blocks the formation of ceramide lipids in the plasma membrane. "Our results are potentially interesting for the development of new anti-viral agents, and they increase our understanding in how the adenovirus works in vaccination and gene therapy" concludes Greber.

INFORMATION:

Literature:

Stefania Luisoni, Maarit Suomalainen, Karin Boucke, Lukas B. Tanner, Markus R. Wenk, Xue Li Guan, Michal Grzybek, Ünal Coskun, Urs F. Greber. Co-option of Membrane Wounding Enables Virus Penetration into Cells. Cell Host & Microbe, July 8, 2015. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931312815002541



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find potential link between fat in blood and blood vessel recovery in ischemia

2015-07-09
(Philadelphia, PA) - The buildup of fat in the blood makes a bad situation worse - it not only raises a person's risk for heart attack or stroke but also impairs the growth of new blood vessels. How excess fat in the blood - a condition known as hyperlipidemia - blocks vessel growth was unclear, but new work by researchers at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM) shows that a molecule known as caspase-1 plays a central role and that preventing its activity could be the key to building new blood vessels and restoring blood supply to oxygen-starved tissues. "Caspase-1 ...

NOAA, partners predict severe harmful algal bloom for Lake Erie

2015-07-09
NOAA and its research partners, using an ensemble modeling approach, predict that the 2015 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom season will be among the most severe in recent years and could become the second most severe behind the record-setting 2011 bloom. The effects of the cyanobacterial blooms include a higher cost for cities and local governments to treat their drinking water, as well as risk to swimmers in high concentration areas, and a nuisance to boaters when blooms form. These effects will vary in locations and severity with winds, and will peak in September. The ...

Kid swagger: How children react to winning and losing

2015-07-09
A group of preschoolers were given one shot to beat the world's fastest builder of block towers. Unbeknownst to the children, it had already been decided who would capture the victory and who would see it slip away. The losers shook it off without it ruining their mood. The winners - even the two-year-olds - showed some obvious swagger: heads held high, chests puffed out, hands on hips in a victorious power pose. But here's the thing - children show emotions much younger than they understand them. That's why the psychologists who staged the contest asked the ...

Genetic differences may help explain inconsistent effectiveness of anti-HIV drug

2015-07-09
Research with human tissue and cells suggests that genetic variations, in addition to failure to comply with treatment regimens, may account for some failures of an anti-HIV drug to treat and prevent HIV infection. In a report described online today in the journal EBioMedicine, investigators at Johns Hopkins found that tenofovir, marketed as Viread, is processed differently according to cell location, so that if the drug is eventually marketed as a topical gel, it could work differently depending on whether it is applied to the vagina or the rectum. Tenofovir has been ...

What makes us more likely to take the stairs?

2015-07-09
This news release is available in French. Montreal, July 9, 2015 -- Death rates due to health problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, that's due to our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Clearly, it's important to lead more active lives. Something as simple as taking the stairs can make a big difference. But can pedestrians be convinced to make healthy choices when an escalator seems so much faster and more convenient than a staircase? Yes, say researchers from Concordia ...

Huge new survey to shine light on dark matter

Huge new survey to shine light on dark matter
2015-07-09
Around 85% of the matter in the Universe is dark [1], and of a type not understood by physicists. Although it doesn't shine or absorb light, astronomers can detect this dark matter through its effect on stars and galaxies, specifically from its gravitational pull. A major project using ESO's powerful survey telescopes is now showing more clearly than ever before the relationships between this mysterious dark matter and the shining galaxies that we can observe directly [2]. The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS - http://kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl/), uses imaging ...

Blood pressure levels and prevalence among US children and adolescents declined in past decade

2015-07-09
Childhood high blood pressure (HBP) is a serious public health challenge worldwide due to associated increases in risk of end organ damages and correlation with HBP in adulthood. The prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) has been reported to increase significantly among United States children and adolescents from 1988-1994 to 1999-2008, but little is known about recent trends in BP values and elevated BP. The authors of a new study, "Trends in elevated blood pressure among US children and adolescents: 1999-2012," published today by the American Journal of Hypertension, ...

U-M, partners predict severe harmful algal bloom for Lake Erie

2015-07-09
ANN ARBOR--University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues predict that the 2015 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom season will be among the most severe in recent years and could become the second-most severe behind the record-setting 2011 bloom. The 2015 seasonal forecast uses models that translate spring nutrient loading into predicted algal blooms in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. After a relatively dry April and May, the heavy rains in June produced record discharge and nutrient loadings from the Maumee River, which runs through Toledo and northeastern ...

Graphene gets competition

Graphene gets competition
2015-07-09
This news release is available in German. Graphene, the only one atom thick carbon network, achieved overnight fame with the 2010 Nobel Prize. But now comes competition: Such layers can also be formed by black phosphorous. Chemists at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have now developed a semiconducting material in which individual phosphorus atoms are replaced by arsenic. In a collaborative international effort, American colleagues have built the first field-effect transistors from the new material. For many decades silicon has formed the ...

Opioids may not spell relief for chronic back pain sufferers with depression, anxiety

2015-07-09
Chicago - Although opioids are frequently prescribed to treat chronic lower back pain, new research suggests these powerful medications may be less effective in some patients. A study published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists® (ASA®), found patients who were prescribed opioids to treat chronic lower back pain experienced significantly less pain relief and were more likely to abuse their medication when they had psychiatric disorders such as depression or anxiety. "High levels ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

How sound—but not touch—shapes rhythm in the brain

Exploring the therapeutic potential of hypothermia

Research alert: Bioengineering breathes new life into failed cancer treatment

AI, health, and health care today and tomorrow – the JAMA Summit Report on artificial intelligence

Large genetic study links cannabis use to psychiatric, cognitive and physical health

Social media use trajectories and cognitive performance in adolescents

Music for the brain: Study tests the effect of slow-tempo relaxing music to address delirium in critically ill older adults 

AI models predict sepsis in children, allow preemptive care

Liraglutide vs semaglutide vs dulaglutide in veterans with type 2 diabetes

Antenatal corticosteroids and infectious diseases throughout childhood

New lab-grown human embryo model produces blood cells

Life after near death: Research reveals how to improve support for near-death experiencers

Illinois Chat is launched for campus community

FAU receives $3M federal grant to prevent substance use in at-risk youth

New report shows action to improve gender equity linked to career gains and better business performance

Kiwis could help manage chronic constipation

Breast, lung, and bladder cancer phase 3 trials led by Dana-Farber presented at ESMO Congress 2025

New open-source software allows for efficient 3D printing with multiple materials

Decoding the secrets of ‘chemo brain’

‘Far from negligible’: New Australian fossil fuel site will have major impact on people and the planet

UK heatwaves overwhelm natural ecological safeguards to increase wildfire risk

Key ExoMars Rover part ships from Aberystwyth

90% of Science Is Lost: Frontiers’ revolutionary AI-powered service transforms data sharing to deliver breakthroughs faster

Skin symptoms may forewarn mental health risks

Brain test predicts ability to achieve orgasm – but only in patients taking antidepressants

‘New reality’ as world reaches first climate tipping point

Non-English primary language may raise risk of delirium after surgery, study finds

Children fast from clear liquids much longer before surgery than guidelines recommend, large study shows

Food insecurity, loneliness can increase the risk of developing chronic pain after surgery

Cesarean delivery linked to higher risk of pain and sleep problems after childbirth

[Press-News.org] Cells help viruses during cell entry