The battle against Zika intensifies, and researchers from the institute of University of North Carolina and the Duke University-National University of Singapore Medical School are doing their part by uncovering the mechanism behind how a potent antibody known as C10 can stop Zika infections from taking place.
Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers stated that outlining the structural basis of neutralization provides support that C10 can be utilized in fighting Zika infections. A reaction between the antibody and the Dengue virus was earlier identified.
Generally, viruses undergo 2 steps to carry out cell infections: docking and fusion. When it docks, a virus particle recognizes a certain site on the cell and binds to that spot. In the situation of the Zika virus, docking starts the process of the cell taking in the virus through an endosome, or a separate compartment in the cell's body. Proteins discovered on the virus' coat start undergoing structural changes to prepare for fusion with the endosome's membrane, which will signify release of the virus genome into the cell and the completion of the infection.
In the month of September, researchers from the institute of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recommended that the Zika virus might be spread from infected eyes after analyzing a transmission case that occurred without all of the previously defined modes of contact. Considering the eyes as a source of Zika infection is significant because a third of babies infected in the womb are born with optic nerve inflammation while infected adults end up with conjunctivitis.
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