Word: cullen
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Until now, research has generally concentrated on keeping HSV1 inactive - and preventing cold sores from ever showing up. But the Duke researchers took the opposite tack: figuring out precisely how to switch the virus from latency to its active stage. That's important, says lead author Dr. Bryan Cullen, professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke, "because unless you activate the virus, you can't kill...
...Cullen and his team were able to replicate the intricate process using lab mice. They started by identifying the tiniest components of the HSV-1 strain. In its latent stage, HSV-1 produces a single molecular product, called latency-associated transcript RNA, or LAT RNA. Unlike most messenger RNA, LAT RNA doesn't produce proteins, so scientists have never been able to determine LAT RNA's exact function. But by inserting the LAT RNA into mice, Cullen found that it breaks down into even smaller strands called microRNA. Researchers then discovered that it was the microRNA that blocked production...
Understanding how to override the microRNA could allow scientists to activate the virus and then kill it using acyclovir. "Once the virus sticks its head up over the fence, you whack it off for good," Cullen says. "Yes, the person has to have one last cold sore, but it'd be worth it to most people to cure them forever...
...theory is that by activating the virus, then preventing it from returning to hibernation, which is when researchers think it gains strength, it can be completely eradicated. Cullen believes that a drug could be developed to block the microRNA that suppress HSV-1 into latency; once it's active, acyclovir can be used to destroy the virus permanently. Cullen suggests that this new research may also eventually be applied to other latent viruses, such as herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which causes genital herpes, or the chicken pox virus, which causes shingles in adults. Cullen warns that some patients...
...Cullen and his colleagues, as well as several biotech firms, are already investigating such treatments and how best to deliver them. "Are any of these viruses fatal?" Cullen says. "No. But there are a lot of people who'd be thrilled never to have a cold sore again...