Word: geneses
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The researchers, who had already used this same process in studies of HIV and the hepatitis C virus, hoped to find that some of the treated cells could not be infected with the influenza virus, which would suggest that the virus needed the deactivated gene to function. Instead, the researchers...
The study found that the family of proteins generated by these key genes, known as IFITM, plays a major role in protecting cells against the flu.
“There’s a certain level of it in your cells all the time preventing 80 to 90 percent of all infections,” Elledge said. “If you get rid of those genes, you see nine or 10 times more infections.?...
A drug that increases the presence of IFITM proteins in humans without provoking negative side effects may be an effective means of preventing influenza. Another area of potential research is the possibility of inserting the IFITM genes into the genomes of animals like swine and poultry—the strains...
In addition, the discovery may help expedite the production of flu vaccines, according to Elledge. By deactivating the IFITM genes in laboratory cells, scientists could grow influenza vaccines in these cells much more quickly. The larger crop of viruses can then be used to produce more vaccines.