To spread, nervous system viruses sabotage cell, hijack
transportation Posted May 30, 2012; 09:00 a.m. Herpes and other
viruses that attack the nervous system may thrive by disrupting
cell function in order to hijack a neuron's internal
transportation network and spread to other cells. Princeton
University researchers made the first observation in neurons
that common strains of the herpes virus indirectly take control
of a cell's mitochondria, the mobile organelles that regulate a
cell's energy supply, communication with other cells, and self-
destruction response to infection. The team reports in the
journal Cell Host and Microbe that viral infection elevates
neuron activity, as well as the cell's level of calcium — a key
chemical in cell communication — and brings mitochondrial motion
to a halt in the cell's axon, which connects to and allows
communication with other neurons. The authors propose that the
viruses then commandeer the proteins that mitochondria typically
use to move about the cell. The pathogen