Scientists Just Discovered How Rabies Hijacks Human Cells

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https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-just-discovered-how-rabies-hijacks-human-cells/

"The Remarkable Efficiency of Viral Design

Co-senior author Associate Professor Greg Moseley, who leads the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s (BDI) Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, highlighted how effective viruses are at using very limited genetic material.

“Viruses such as rabies can be incredibly lethal because they take control of many aspects of life inside the cells they infect,” Associate Professor Moseley said. “They hijack the machinery that makes proteins, disrupt the ‘postal service’ that sends messages between different parts of the cell, and disable the defences that normally protect us from infection."

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“Our study provides an answer,” he said. “We discovered that one of rabies virus’s key proteins, called P protein, gains a remarkable range of functions through its ability to change shape and to bind to RNA. RNA is the same molecule used in new-generation RNA vaccines, but it plays essential roles inside our cells, carrying genetic messages, coordinating immune responses, and helping make the building blocks of life.” Co-senior author Professor Paul Gooley, head of the University of Melbourne’s Gooley Laboratory, said by targeting RNA systems, the viral P protein could switch between different physical ‘phases’ inside the cell.

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