A method in Ebola's madness
Wickelgren, I.
Science 279(5353): 983-984
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9490485 Document Number: 492792
Scientists have found new evidence as to what makes the Ebola virus so dangerous. In this issue, a team led by molecular virologist Gary Nabel of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor reports findings that suggest the virus uses different versions of the same glycoprotein to wage a two-pronged attack on the body. One glycoprotein, which is secreted by the virus, appears to paralyze the inflammatory response that should repel it, and the other, which remains bound to Ebola, attacks the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels, assisting the virus to infect and damage them. If Nabel's findings are confirmed in infected animals and humans, these glycoproteins could be targets for anti-Ebola vaccines and for drugs that treat Ebola infections. Moreover, some of the research could produce a new way of treating common ailments like heart disease and cancer with gene therapies.