Word: microrna
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...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 of the protein that activates HSV-1. "So if there was a sufficient supply of microRNA, then the virus stayed latent," Cullen says. "But under a high level of stress, the microRNA's blocking mechanisms break down, thus triggering...
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...
| 1 |