Viral escape hatch could be treatment target for hepatitis E
The technique that the hepatitis E virus -- an emerging liver virus historically found in developing countries but now on the rise in Europe -- uses to spread could present a weak spot scientists can exploit to treat the disease, according to a Princeton University-led study. The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Researchers report that when the hepatitis E virus infects a cell, it makes proteins that poke holes in the cell's membrane to allow newly made virus particles to escape and spread. Known as viroporins, these proteins create channels that allow the inflow and outflow of charged particles called ions that disrupt the infected cell's physiology and lead it to release the infectious particles. Yet the very proteins the virus uses to escape a host cell and spread infection could in fact provide an avenue for developing antivirals that target hepatitis E, the researchers said. They suggest that curtailing the virus...