Eliminating cell receptor prevents infection in animal study New
research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sheds
light on the role of cell receptors in acting as gatekeepers for
infectious viruses. By using mice genetically engineered to lack
a particular receptor in heart and pancreas cells, the study
team prevented infection by a common virus that causes
potentially serious diseases in humans. "This finding is a step
to understanding how cell receptors operate in infections," said
study leader Jeffrey M. Bergelson, M.D., a pediatric infectious
diseases specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"Scientists have identified receptors for many viruses that
cause disease," said Bergelson, "but it is not always clear
whether the receptors found in cell cultures actually play a
role in the disease process. In this case, we confirmed that
this receptor really is involved in the disease." The current
study, publishing July 23 in Cell Host and Microbe, focused on
the coxsackievirus and adenov