Nobel prize winning tech reveals herpes virus structure
16 Jul 2018 by Evoluted New Media
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal the detailed structure of the common herpes virus.
The team used the cutting-edge technique to reveal, in high resolution, the biological mechanisms the herpes virus uses to infect people. The researchers now hope that these findings could lead to the development of new drugs to treat the virus.
Dr David Bhella, lead author of the study from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said: “Cryo-electron microscopy, combined with new computational image processing methods allowed us to reveal the detailed structure of the unique machinery by which the virus packs DNA into the capsid. The DNA is packed very tightly, reaching a pressure similar to that inside a bottle of Champagne.”
The herpes family include the viruses that cause both cold-sores and chicken pox. Members of this family of viruses can also cause cancers and severe illnesses in the unborn child. However, at only 1/10,000th of a millimetre in diameter, the capsid the herpes virus uses to store its DNA and infect its host, has until now been difficult to anaylse.
The researchers used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal the structure of a motor-like assembly called a portal. Herpesviruses pump their DNA into preassembled capsids through the portal. When a herpes virus infects our cells, the DNA is ejected from the capsid by the same portal machinery.
As well as revealing the shape of the portal machinery, this study also revealed how the virus packs its DNA inside the capsid. Individual strands of DNA were seen to be wound up in a spool, rather like a ball of wool.
The development of cryo-EM as a technique for resolving detailed atomic structures was developed at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
Dr Jonathan Pearce, Head of Infections and Immunity at the MRC, said: “Dr Bhella and his team’s findings provide scientists with a better understanding of the virus and its anatomy, and, in turn, an insight into potential new therapeutic targets.”
The work is published in PLOS Biology.
