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CHICAGO (AFP) — Biologists have mapped how a deadly class of viruses including dengue, West Nile, yellow fever and encephalitis become infectious in a pair of studies published in the journal Science.

“This is possibly the most detailed understanding of how any virus matures,” said study author Michael Rossmann of Purdue University in Indiana.

Rossmann and his colleagues detailed critical structural changes that take place as the dengue virus moves from the inner to the outer portions of its host cell.

The findings pertain to all viruses in the family of flaviviruses which are carried by mosquitoes and ticks.

They found that a protein which coats the genome of the virus particle undergoes large changes in its structure so that it becomes capable of fusing with cell membranes.

This structural change, which occurs as the virus is being secreted from its host, allows the protein to infect other cells rather …

Information provided by: Findarticles.com

The way dengue virus matures and becomes infectious has been determined by biologists at Purdue University in Indiana.

The dengue virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, infects more than 50 million people a year and kills about 24,000, primarily in tropical regions. The virus is prevalent in Southeast Asia, Central America and South America.

The Purdue team identified important changes that occur as the virus is assembled and moves from the inner to the outer portions of a host cell before the virus is secreted and can infect other cells.

Virus particles are exposed to progressively less acidic conditions as they move along this “secretory pathway.” The changing acidity plays a critical role in the maturation of the Dengue virus.

“This is possibly the most detailed understanding of …

Information provided by: Findarticles.com