A new study at Texas Biomedical Research Institute is shedding light on the role of specific proteins that trigger a mechanism allowing Ebola virus to enter cells to replicate. BSL4 is a high-containment facility that houses research on diseases for which there are no approved vaccines or cures.

The new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to have claimed more than 30 victims. The cellular pathway under study is called autophagy, a ord that literally means “self-eating.” This ancient mechanism is switched on by cells to destroy invading foreign material or consume its own organelles and protein complexes in order to recycle nutrients and survive. Autophagy generally takes place inside the cell.

Conducting in vitro work using live Ebola virus, researcher discovered that the mechanism was clearly active near the surface of the cells and plays an essential role in facilitating virus uptake. Ebola virus invades cells though macropinocytosis, a poorly understood process in which the cell surface remodels to form membrane extensions around virions (virus particles), eventually closing to bring them into the interior of the cell. Ebola virus used autophagy regulators right at the surface of the cell.

The interplay between these two cellular processes could have implications for treatment of health conditions other than viruses. Regulation of the autophagy proteins with a drug could combat complex diseases where macropinocytosis is dysregulated such as in cancer and certain neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
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Virus is the major health problems we need to find a way around.....

Ebola is a very deadly disease