Scientists in Canada and the U.S. have discovered a new way in which Ebola—an often deadly virus affecting people mostly in sub-Saharan Africa—reproduces in the body.
Scientists in Canada and the U.S. have discovered a new way in which Ebola—an often deadly virus affecting people mostly in sub-Saharan Africa—reproduces in the body.
By shedding light on how the virus interacts with a human protein called ubiquitin, the researchers have also identified a potential target for new drugs to prevent the disease.
Published in PLOS Biology, the study involves pharmacologists at Université de Montréal, infectious-disease specialists at Rutgers University, and microbiologists, immunologists and pathologists at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston).
« We used a combination of experimental and computational methods to investigate the interaction between the Ebola virus VP35 protein and ubiquitin chains, » said co-author Rafael Najmanovich, a professor in the pharmacology department of UdeM’s medical faculty.
