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Study reveals how a common virus eludes the immune system
August 31, 2009Cytomegalovirus shuts down antiviral defenses by destroying MHC I protein
Viruses have numerous tricks for dodging the immune system. In the September 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Stagg et al. reveal a key detail in one of these stratagems, identifying a protein that enables cyto¬megalovirus to shut down an antiviral defense (online August 31).
Cytomegalovirus, which most people contract at some point in their lives, eludes immune system surveillance by targeting the protein MHC I. When we're sick, MHC I captures bits of viral proteins and presents them to cytotoxic T cells, which respond by killing cells that harbor the virus, stanching the infection. However, two cytomegalovirus genes dupe cells into ubiquitinating MHC I and demolishing it in the proteasome, the cellular garbage disposal. To trigger MHC I ubiquitination, the genes co-opt a cellular protein called the E3 ligase. Researchers haven't been able to pin down the identity of this protein, which could be one of several hundred enzymes.
Stagg et al. sifted 373 candidates by depleting them one by one with RNAi. Knocking down a ligase called TRC8 spared MHC I from destruction, the team found. Mutant versions of TRC8 that curtail ubiquitination allow MHC I to return to duty. Researchers know little about the function of the protein except that it is mutated in some rare hereditary and sporadic kidney tumors. That result suggests that one of the normal targets of TRC8 helps spur cancer.
Rockefeller University Press
Stagg et al. sifted 373 candidates by depleting them one by one with RNAi. Knocking down a ligase called TRC8 spared MHC I from destruction, the team found. Mutant versions of TRC8 that curtail ubiquitination allow MHC I to return to duty. Researchers know little about the function of the protein except that it is mutated in some rare hereditary and sporadic kidney tumors. That result suggests that one of the normal targets of TRC8 helps spur cancer.
Rockefeller University Press
Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSSFirst reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
New findings suggest strategy to help generate HIV-neutralizing antibodies
New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
UAB Researchers Discover Antibody Receptor Identity, Propose Renaming Immune-System Gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
New culprit for viral infections among elderly -- an overactive immune response
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people.
Women at risk from vitamin A deficiency
Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found.
Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
Thoughtful words help couples stay fighting fit
Couples who bring thoughtful words to a fight release lower amounts of stress-related proteins, suggesting that rational communication between partners can ease the impact of marital conflict on the immune system.
Largest gene study of childhood IBD identifies 5 new genes
In the largest, most comprehensive genetic analysis of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an international research team has identified five new gene regions, including one involved in a biological pathway that helps drive the painful inflammation of the digestive tract that characterizes the disease.
Faithful mothers have healthier babies
Faculty of 1000 reviewers examine a study from New Zealand on whether prolonged exposure to the father's semen protects new mothers against pre-eclampsia and having an undersized baby
Hoping for a fluorescent basket case
Although recent advances have raised hopes that a protective vaccine can be developed, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remains a major public health problem.
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