Скачать или смотреть β1-Integrin: The sneaky co-conspirator to reovirus entry into host cells

Read the paper: https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-02...

Transcript:

Like similar viruses, reovirus is highly skillfull at getting past our cells’ defences. Its goal is to break through the plasma membrane of host cells and initiate replication once inside.

But it does not gain entry alone: it relies on a sneaky team of several co-conspirators, some of them unknown and hidden in the dark.

A new suspect is the β1-integrin, but we need more evidence to clarify its role as an accomplice to reovirus entry.

Does β1-integrin interact directly with reovirus? and how does it mediate reovirus entry into the host cell?

Therefore, researchers from Université catholique de Louvain used cutting edge atomic-force microscopy in combination with advanced imaging approaches to investigate reovirus binding to β1-integrin.

In essence, they put the virus at the end of fishing rod and threw it onto the cell to measure where it binds and with what force: identifying the lock, the receptor, and the key on the virus.

While the most recognised entry point for viruses is via junctional adhesion molecule-A, the researchers discovered new evidence directly implicating β1-integrin. They demonstrated that a direct interaction of reovirus with β1-integrin mediates clathrin recruitment on host cells: not only discovering a new entry key, but also a new lock.

This new understanding of the complex interplay between reovirus and β1-integrin is a big step. It could assist in the development of some key medical breakthroughs:

the development of broad-spectrum antiviral therapies targeting similar viruses like coronavirus, adenovirus, picornavirus and
more targeted virus-based anti-cancer treatments.