Keeping up with viruses can be a challenge due to their rapid evolution and the development of new proteins that aid in infecting hosts. Understanding these viral proteins and their functions is crucial for developing effective treatments against viruses.
A team of scientists at Gladstone Institutes and the Innovative Genomics Institute, led by Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., utilized computational tools to predict the 3D shapes of around 70,000 viral proteins. By matching these shapes to known protein structures, the researchers gained insights into the functions of these proteins.
One significant discovery published in Nature was the identification of a common mechanism used by viruses to evade immune systems, regardless of whether they infect bacteria or higher organisms like humans. This finding sheds light on how viruses interact with host cells and evade immune responses.
Doudna emphasized the importance of understanding emerging viruses with pandemic potential and how they interact with human cells. The study provides a valuable tool for predicting the actions of newly emerging viruses.
Due to the rapid evolution of viruses, many viral proteins have limited similarities with known proteins, making it challenging to determine their functions based on amino acid sequences alone.
Source: phys.org