Viruses hitch a ride in the cell

June 24, 2008

Viruses can travel around cells they infect by hitching a ride on a microscopic transport system, according to new research. Cells are exposed to foreign DNA and RNA and it is understood that some of this genetic material can be integrated into the host genome. Using modern microscopic techniques, scientists have been able to see how virus DNA is transported in the cell.

Professor Dr Urs Greber from the University of Zurich will describe interactions between viruses and the cell cytoskeleton today (Tuesday 24 June 2008) at the new SGM-RMS satellite meeting, part of the prestigious MICROSCIENCE 2008 conference being held this week at the ExCeL conference centre in London.

"We have been using human adenoviruses (Ads) to investigate transport processes of foreign DNA in the cytoplasm of human cells," said Professor Dr Greber. "Adenoviruses are a diverse family of agents that replicate their DNA genome in the cell nucleus. We wanted to find out how the virus gets to the nucleus to replicate. To do this we have been using live cell fluorescence microscopy, which means we can literally watch the virus travelling inside the cell."

Human adenoviruses can cause respiratory, urinary and digestive infections. They occasionally cause epidemic conjunctivitis, and can be fatal in immunocompromised patients. Adenoviruses can aggravate asthmatic conditions, and are associated with deadly gastroenteritis in babies. This research improves our knowledge of how the virus replicates in host cells.

"Virus DNA is transported from the edge of the cell to the nucleus in the middle by attaching to microtubules. These are microscopic tubes that form part of the cytoskeleton, keeping the cell in shape and carrying molecules around in the cytoplasm," said Professor Dr Greber. "We found an unexpected new link between microtubule-based transport in the cytoplasm of the cell and the import of virus DNA to the nucleus."

Other talks at the one-day SGM meeting will concentrate on the 'tussle' that takes place when a host cell tries to fight back against an invading pathogen. Sir David King will start the day by talking about the 'Twenty first century challenges of sustainability and wellbeing'. Professor Timo Hyypia (University of Turku) will speak on 'Cellular interactions of enteroviruses' and Dr Mark Jepson (University of Bristol) will look at the way in which bacteria invade cells. The manipulation of cellular compartments by the SARS coronavirus for replication purposes will also be discussed by Dr Marjolein Kikkert (Leiden University Medical Centre).

Society for General Microbiology

---

---

	Virus by Random Ax Media When struggling Ethics Detective Asher Fox gets a contract to do some research for a client, he stumbles onto a dark secret in the global pharmaceuticals industry. With cohorts Cal West and Windsor Obili, he gets swept up into a dangerous international web of spin and counter spin, involving big business, the White House and US foreign policy, the HIV-AIDS epidemic, media politics, a major charity, an African government, thousands of hapless Africans and the Israel/Palestine dispute. Championed by a sympathetic newspaper editor, the trio become headline news and the target for the deadly intentions of the world’s most powerful figures. Virus touches on issues of politics, business, ethics and justice and asks questions about how we might approach the examined life in...
	After the Virus by Old Man in the CrossWalk Productions “Deftly mixing post-apocalyptic survivor thriller tropes with a wickedly morbid sense of humor, Meghan Ciana Doidge's "After the Virus" manages to be both the funniest and most kick-ass action/adventure narrative I've read in ages.” - Scott F Gray, After The Virus - Amazon Review "There are worse things than Zombies and they walk by us everyday." - Mark McLeod, After The Virus, Amazon Review A “final show-down with an evil expertly crafted to make you wince and shudder.” - R. Jones, After The Virus, Amazon Review After the virus decimates 99.9% of the world’s population, and all traces of humanity along with it, Rhiannon and Will are forced to move beyond their past fame, fortune, and personal demons to rescue a mute girl...
	The Invisible Enemy: A Natural History of Viruses by Dorothy Crawford (Author) Here is a compelling scientific account of viruses, their history, and the dangers they pose--now and in the future. Viruses are disarmingly small and simple. Nevertheless, the smallpox virus killed over 300 million people in the twentieth century before it was eradicated in 1980. The AIDS virus, HIV, is now the world's biggest killer infection and the single most common cause of death in Africa. In recent years, the outbreaks of several lethal viruses such as Ebola and Hantavirus have caused great public concern--yet most people remain woefully ill-informed. In this fascinating new book, Dorothy Crawford explains lucidly and accessibly all aspects of the natural history of these deadly parasites and discusses controversial subjects such as CFS and Gulf War Syndrome. The book...
	Zomboro Virus by Brenda Dyer Major Trevor Dyer got his wish. While playing zombie video games as a teenager, he'd dreamed of a zombie apocalypse. Years later, the game he loved became reality. The United Nations created the Zomboro Virus to aid in the war on terrorism. But it backfired. The world was now crawling with flesh eating zombies. As Trevor and his team fight to rid the planet of the undead, his brother and famed Scientist, Dr. Tyler Dyer scrambles to find a cure before darkness and terror win.
	A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer (Author) Viruses are the smallest living things known to science, yet they hold the entire planet in their sway. We are most familiar with the viruses that give us colds or the flu, but viruses also cause a vast range of other diseases, including one disorder that makes people sprout branch-like growths as if they were trees. Viruses have been a part of our lives for so long, in fact, that we are actually part virus: the human genome contains more DNA from viruses than our own genes. Meanwhile, scientists are discovering viruses everywhere they look: in the soil, in the ocean, even in caves miles underground.This fascinating book explores the hidden world of viruses—a world that we all inhabit. Here Carl Zimmer, popular science writer and author of Discover magazine’s award-winning blog The...
	Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present and Future by Michael B. A. Oldstone M.D. (Author) The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. Oldstone begins with smallpox, polio, and measles. Nearly 300 million people were killed by smallpox in this century alone and the author presents a vivid account of the long campaign to eradicate this lethal killer. Oldstone then describes the fascinating viruses that have captured headlines in more recent years: Ebola, Hantavirus, mad cow disease (a frightening illness made worse by government mishandling and secrecy), and, of course, AIDS. And he tells us of the many scientists...
	The Tilian Virus: Book One of The Pandemic Sequence (Volume 1) by Tom Calen (Author) The virus spread quicker than anyone could have imagined. Within days, over half the world's population became infected. Now a small band of survivors, led by high school teacher Mike Allard, must learn to live in a world ravaged by the deadly victims of the Tilian Virus. Weaving together two separate time frames, The Tilian Virus is a tale of humankind's most dire hour. Faced with imminent elimination, humanity's last glimmers struggle to break through the darkness of a pandemic the world has never before experienced.
	How Pathogenic Viruses Work by Lauren Sompayrac (Author) More than 50 viruses can cause human disease, and textbooks are packed with facts about these viruses and the diseases they cause. Indeed, digesting this wealth of information can be daunting both for students and for professors. In How Pathogenic Viruses Work, the author reveals that the key to understanding this complex subject is to recognize that every virus must solve three basic problems: how to reproduce within the cells of its infected host, how to evade host defenses, and how to spread to a new host. Moreover, once the way a virus solves these problems is known, the pathological consequences of the viral infection can be predicted. To demonstrate the power of this approach, the author analyzes a dozen common human viruses, how they solve these problems, and what the resultant...
	Viruses: A Very Short Introduction by Dorothy H. Crawford (Author) In recent years, the world has witnessed dramatic outbreaks of such dangerous viruses such as HIV, Hanta, swine flu, SARS, and Lassa fever. In this Very Short Introduction, eminent biologist and popular science writer Dorothy Crawford offers a fascinating portrait of these infinitesimally small but often highly dangerous creatures. Crawford first relates how viruses were discovered and she unravels the intricate structures of tiny parasites that are by far the most abundant life forms on the planet. Analyzing the threat of viral infections, Crawford recounts stories of renowned killer viruses such as Ebola and rabies as well as the less known bat-borne Nipah and Hendra viruses. She identifies wild animals as the source of the most recent pandemics, detailing the reasons behind the present...
	The Armageddon Virus by E. Richard Jodoin (Author) A biological attack is launched against the United States. The virus quickly encompasses the rest of the world within its deadly clutches. The United States government tries desperately to maintain control of the deadly plague that has been unleashed on the world. Government procedures designed to deal with this type of terrorist attack quickly prove to be almost useless when confronted with the reality of a virus that has a 95 percent kill rate. As key people begin to die what will stop humanity from complete annihilation? Or is it already too late to stop humanity from descending into another dark age and civilization as we know it from disappearing? Jerry Hotchkin was an obscure government analyst who now has been thrust into the spotlight for discovering the plot. Can he now use his...