Common cold cure wiggles to work
31 May 2005 by Evoluted New Media
An antiviral compound that wiggles its way into the common cold virus may provide a clue for halting the infection, say scientists
An antiviral compound that wiggles its way into the common cold virus may provide a clue for halting the infection, say scientists
An antiviral compound that wiggles its way into the common cold virus may provide one clue for halting the infection, say scientists.
Using computer simulations, a team of scientists at the Purdue University, have found the likely reason why a WIN compound – a prototype drug for curing colds – is showing so much promise.
The flexible molecule's structure may allow it to manoeuvre inside the proteins that form the outer shell of the virus and alter them to the point where they cannot complete the infection process.
Professor Carol B. Post, the team’s leader, said: "Flexibility appears to be an important characteristic for a drug to possess if it is to be successful at neutralising rhinoviruses, which often cause the common cold."
"Because both the protein and the WIN compound are always in motion, the compound is able to shimmy its way through the hole by twisting itself around," Post said. "If it gets stuck for a moment, it can twist its way through by means of atom-sized hinges and swivels along its length. It turns out that even in the molecular world, it helps to be flexible."
The team discovered the effect through a computer simulation of the molecules' behaviour, which they animated as a brief film.
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/mov/2005/postwiggle.mpg
The video shows how a WIN molecule (in magenta) obtains entry to a VP-1 protein (in blue) that forms part of the shell of rhinovirus, one cause of the common cold.
