Like many viruses, the rabies virus has a relatively small genome compared to most organisms. Scientists have now revealed how the rabies virus can take control of cells even though its genome only encodes for a few proteins. The researchers also suggested that this mechanism may also be similar for other dangerous viruses like Ebola; so this work could aid in the development of treatments or vaccines for various viruses. The study has been reported in Nature Communications.
"Viruses such as rabies can be incredibly lethal because they take control of many aspects of life inside the cells they infect," said co-senior study author Associate Professor Greg Moseley, head of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute's (BDI) Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory.
Mosely added that these viruses have the remarkable ability to, "do so much with so little. They hijack the machinery that makes proteins, disrupt the 'postal service' that sends messages between different parts of the cell, and disable the defenses that normally protect us from infection.
"A major question for scientists has been: how do viruses achieve this with so few genes? Rabies virus, for example, has the genetic material to make only five proteins, compared with about 20,000 in a human cell."
This study can help answer that question. For example, the study indicated that a crucial virus in the rabies virus genome, called P protein, can take on many new functions in a host cell during an infection. It is able to change shape and bind to RNA, enabling it to perform in new ways.
Genes are transcribed into RNA molecules when they are active, among, other functions. RNA is found in all types of cells and can be used in many ways. This study has highlighted how viruses can hijack RNA.
By talking aim at RNA, the viral P protein is able to morph between “phases” in the cell, said co-senior study author Professor Paul Gooley of the University of Melbourne. It can then get into many parts of the cell and take control of important stuff like immune processes, and turn the cell into a virus factory.
"By revealing this new mechanism, our study provides a fresh way of thinking about how viruses use their limited genetic material to create proteins that are flexible, adaptable, and able to take control of complex cellular systems."
Other viruses probably use this same mechanism, the study authors suggested. So it may be possible to create antiviral drugs that target it.
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